ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Hammad Azhar on Saturday raised serious concerns over the alleged absence of Form 45s from the election materials distributed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to presiding officers ahead of Sunday’s by-election in Lahore’s NA-129 constituency. The seat became vacant in July following the death of Azhar’s father, senior politician Mian Azhar.
In a post shared on X, Hammad claimed: “We are receiving reports that multiple presiding officers are missing Form 45s in the election materials they have received from ECP. This is a serious violation of the electoral process.” His warning came shortly after he had issued detailed instructions to PTI polling agents regarding election-day documentation.
He urged agents to closely inspect the election bags when they are opened in the morning, ensuring that Forms 45 and 46 are blank and presented to them before polling begins. Stressing vigilance, he said polling agents must remain present throughout voting and counting, insisting that “polling boxes must not be out of sight at any moment.”
Hammad further reminded PTI agents that it was their legal right to obtain a filled Form 45 reflecting the actual vote count. Any staff attempting to obstruct this process, he warned, would be liable to legal consequences. He instructed PTI workers stationed outside polling centres to stay until the end of the process and “peacefully follow the presiding officer to the returning officer’s office” after polling concludes.
Under the Elections Act 2017, candidates may appoint multiple polling agents for oversight of voting and counting. In another message, Hammad cautioned presiding officers and polling staff “not to indulge in any illegal act,” claiming they were being pressured by unnamed individuals. He warned that those issuing such threats were safeguarding themselves, moving assets overseas, and “will push you into unconstitutional actions and flee themselves.”
The NA-129 contest features Mian Azhar’s nephew, Chaudhry Arsalan Ahmad, running as an independent after PTI lost its “bat” symbol last year. He is up against PML-N’s Hafiz Mian Nauman, whom Mian Azhar had defeated by more than 30,000 votes in the 2024 general election. PTI has accused the Punjab government of orchestrating rigging in Nauman’s favour, including claims that Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) officials were appointed as presiding officers. Lesco CEO Ramzan Butt rejected the allegation, stating that all appointments were made solely by the ECP.
Earlier, video footage showed local police removing banners of Ahmad — a development echoing the controversies of the 2024 elections, where PTI-backed candidates contested independently due to the loss of their symbol.
