The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) altering the documents pertaining to at least 41 national and provincial assembly constituencies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ECP has been updating Form 45s, crucial documents containing polling station and ballot information, on its official Google Drive, Dawn reported.

While the exact nature of the modifications remains unclear, the move has raised serious concerns about the transparency of the electoral process, particularly at a time when several election disputes are being heard by tribunals.

The ECP’s actions appear to have been triggered by a report from Pattan-Coalition 38, an NGO, which claimed that Form 45s for several constituencies were missing from the ECP website. The ECP dismissed the report as “baseless,” but independent scrutiny by Dawn revealed the commission’s claim to be false.

An investigation by Dawn found that Form 45s for 14 provincial assembly constituencies in Lahore were missing on the ECP’s Google Drive, replaced by Form 46s. Additionally, around 50 Form 45s for NA-125 in Lahore were missing.

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However, the missing forms were subsequently added to the Google Drive on July 4 and 5, including those for constituencies held by prominent figures like Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz (PP-159), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (PP-164), and Aleem Khan of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (PP-150).

The ECP also modified data for 26 other constituencies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Form 45s had already been uploaded. This included constituencies where PML-N candidates lost to PTI-backed candidates, such as NA-104 (Faisalabad), won by Sahibzada Hamid Raza of the Sunni Ittehad Council.

The ECP’s actions have sparked widespread criticism, with many questioning the integrity of the election process.

An official desribed the matter as an ‘honest mistake’ if form 46 had been uploaded instead of form 45.