The Senate by-election for the women’s reserved seat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly, vacated by Dr. Sania Nishtar, turned controversial after provincial ministers were caught attempting to manipulate the voting process.
According to reliable sources, Provincial Irrigation Minister Aqibullah—brother of former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser—was caught on camera inserting a blank paper into the ballot box. Additionally, MPA Hamid ur Rehman allegedly tried to remove a ballot paper from the polling area.
Presiding Officer and Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gul immediately halted the polling process upon witnessing the violations. He personally opened the ballot box and recovered the blank paper from Hamid ur Rehman’s attempt. The polling was only resumed after Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur offered a formal apology and assured transparency in the electoral process.
Sources further revealed that Education Minister Faisal Tarkai also attempted to tamper with his vote by trying to take the ballot paper outside, prompting another temporary suspension of polling. Chief Minister Gandapur had to return to the Jirga Hall once again, where he repeated his assurance of fair voting, after which polling resumed.
Reports also indicate that CCTV footage of the incident, recorded by official cameras inside the polling station, was deleted shortly after the incident—raising further concerns over transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
