Social media has been rife with complaints in the last 48 hours that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has changed voter registration data of several citizens without informing them, with most claiming that their polling stations have been moved by the ECP to inconvenient locations much farther than their previous allocations.
These complaints started pouring in after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf asked citizens to confirm their voter registration information with the ECP by messaging their Identity Card (CNIC) numbers to 8300.
Since then, dozens of Twitter users have posted screenshots of what they say are updates made to their polling stations, which have been changed from the ones allocated during the 2018 general election, and in some cases have been moved quite far away from their areas of residence.
One social media user said his polling station, which was just 700 metres from his house, had been moved six kilometres away. Another complained that his polling station was now located 20 kilometres away from his area of residence.
Another user said that some voters had been “thrown as far as few hundred miles”.
Journalists, politicians and citizens expressed concern over these complaints, raising questions about whether it was an attempt at pre-poll rigging to manipulate the elections.
Reacting to the complaints of the citizens, the ECP has denied making any changes to voter registration data, saying “there is no truth in such reports.”
The electoral watchdog said any citizen who was facing an inconvenience must immediately reach out to the ECP with necessary documents for redressal of complaints.
