Video showing printing of fake ballot papers exposed
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A viral video which purportedly showed fake ballot papers being printed at a printing press in Lahore has been exposed.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had shared a video which purportedly showed fake ballot papers being printed at a printing press.
The video was originally shared by journalist Rai Saqib Kharal, who claimed to have “raided” at a printing press in Lahore where faking ballot papers were being printed.
The PTI said the printing press was owned by PML-N leader Ehsaan in Lahore. It added that the video was evidence of alleged rigging in the general election and soon went viral.
It said a “journalist conducted a raid on a press printing press owned by a PMLN member, where he found ballot papers for seat in Manshera NA-15 being printed, where Nawaz Sharif lost to a PTI-backed candidate.”
It said the “staff confirmed receiving orders to print these ballots just a couple of hours back.”
“The PTI-backed candidate Muhammad Gustashap, has already secured victory on the seat, according to the verified results from Form 45s,” it added.
The video was also shared from the official account of PTI founder Imran Khan and has been viewed 786,000 times despite the X blockage in several parts of London.
Soon after, the journalist deleted the video from his official page on social media site X.
FactCheck Pakistan can conclude that the video is fake and has been staged.
It must also be noted that the design and layout of the ballot paper is NOT similar to the one printed by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The original ballot papers are printed in Landscape layout by the Printing Corporation of Pakistan and have space for the thumb impression next to the election symbol.
The ballot papers uses special paper and has distinctive watermarks. These are printed using three different machines amid stringent security measures.
According to the provisional election results by the ECP, there are 645,049 voters registered in NA-15 constituency, out of which 238,518 cast their votes, showing a turnout of 38.28 percent.
