By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday has sought evidence of horse trading in Senate polls from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assembly Muhammad Abdul Salam.
According to details, the PTI lawmaker has claimed that he was offered Rs8 crore to change loyalty in the elections in upper house of the Parliament. I received messages from international numbers. Will provide proof to the election commission to justify my statement, he stated.
Earlier on March 3, in a major upset in the Senate election, Yousaf Raza Gilani, the joint candidate of opposition parties, had been elected senator from Islamabad, by defeating Abdul Hafeez Shaikh of the ruling party, according to unofficial results. Yousaf Raza Gilani, a former prime minister who belongs to the PPP, enjoyed the support of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance cobbled together by a dozen opposition parties against the embattled government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The Gilani-Shaikh duel carried a huge symbolic value as the PDM had said in the run-up to the Senate elections that Gilani’s victory would mean a vote of no-confidence against the prime minister, Imran Khan.
