On Sunday, the PTI claimed that the Form 47 for 18 National Assembly (NA) seats that had allegedly been won by the party were falsely changed by returning officers (RO). The February 8 general elections had seen mobile services suspended and a delay in the announcement of preliminary results. The party claimed to have become the single largest party in the Centre and two provinces and vowed to reclaim its iconic ‘bat’ symbol. In a message on Imran Khan’s official X account, it was stated that the party had secured a two-thirds majority in the 2024 general elections and echoed allegations of rigging, claiming that the party was winning “170 seats” according to Form 45s.
PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan lamented that the process of announcing results was slowed down and then halted to “tamper with the results” when it became clear that PTI was leading in the Centre, KP, and Punjab. PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub said the Form 47 for 18 National Assembly seats were “falsely changed,” and accused corrupt bureaucrats of stealing the people’s mandate. He warned ROs of legal consequences for “tampering with Form 47s maliciously.”
PTI-backed independent candidates also claimed to have won based on Form 45, such as NA-151’s Meher Bano Qureshi and NA-128’s Salman Akram Raja.
Meanwhile, PML-N formed a legal team to address rigging allegations and emphasized its intention to defend its case in court. PML-N leader Azam Nazeer Tarar criticized PTI for fabricating falsehoods and accused it of filing writ petitions for lost constituencies. PML-N spokesperson Uzma Bukhari called on all institutions to work within their domain and stated that the election tribunals were the appropriate forum to register complaints about rigging or results.