PTI’s NA-119 candidate did not withdraw in favour of Maryam Nawaz

The iVerify Pakistan team has checked this content and has established that it is false since the official record from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not show Mehr Muhammad Waseem as a candidate in Lahore’s NA-119 (Lahore III) constituency and nor was he mentioned as a PTI nominee in the party’s candidate lists.

To arrive at this verdict, the iVerify Pakistan team has checked the official list of contesting candidates issued by the ECP on January 21, 2024, as well as the candidate lists released by the PTI.

HOW IT STARTED

On January 21, 2024, multiple TV channels broadcast news that Mehr Muhammad Waseem announced his withdrawal in favour of PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz for NA-119.

The title of a video uploaded to Dawn News YouTube account was: “Big shock to PTI in Lahore”

The same news was published by leading English daily The Express Tribune with the headline: “PTI NA-119 candidate withdraws in Maryam’s favour”

The news was also carried on the website of Geo News, The News and Samaa.

The message was shared here, here and here on social media platforms.

METHODOLOGY

The iVerify Pakistan team sought to determine the veracity of the claim due to the public’s keen interest in the upcoming February 8 general elections as well as the fact that multiple media outlets carried the news which was widely called out as being false by people and social media users.

The iVerify Pakistan team determined the independent candidate affiliated with the PTI for NA-119 by messaging the constituency to the official Facebook page of party chief Imran Khan.

The party had announced on Jan 24 that messaging constituencies to the Facebook page would show the corresponding PTI-affiliated independent candidate.

The response from the page for NA-119 said Shahzad Farooq with the symbol of the ‘tricycle’ was the relevant independent candidate.

To corroborate the matter, the iVerify Pakistan team examined the Jan 21 list of candidates issued by the ECP for the upcoming polls.

Checking page 144 of the list for National Assembly candidates from Punjab showed the contestants for NA-119.

A scrutiny of the NA-119 candidates showed Farooq among them while there was no mention of Waseem.

The team contacted Dawn reporter Adnan Sheikh and Mian Shoaib Ahmed for a response from the PML-N and clarity on the matter. Sheikh said PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb had shared the news with journalists via WhatsApp.

Sourcing the message to confirm if it was officially shared led to a Jan 21 post on the PML-N’s official account on social media platform X.

The relevant portion of the message is reproduced below:

“Major breakthrough for PML-N in NA-119 constituency of National Assembly from Lahore.

“PTI’s national and provincial assembly candidate and supporter withdrew in favour of PML-N.

“PTI ticketholder Mehr Muhammad Waseem joined PML-N along with thousands of his workers.

“Mehr Muhammad Waseem and his colleagues announced their support for Maryam Nawaz Sharif in the constituency.”

However, the message itself only described Waseem as a “PTI ticketholder”

The team next investigated the official lists of PTI-affiliated independent candidates for the national and Punjab assemblies, that were released by the party.

A thorough search of the lists showed that Waseem was not listed as a PTI-affiliated independent candidate for the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, Farooq is mentioned as the candidate for NA-119 on page four of the list of National Assembly nominees.

FEBRUARY 8 ELECTIONS

With the general elections less than 20 days away, it is important to note that PTI-affiliated candidates are contesting the elections independently with different election symbols assigned by the ECP following a Jan 13 judgment by the Supreme Court stripping the party of its electoral symbol of the ‘bat’.

The party has voiced its concerns over the issue of legal horse-trading after the verdict. It believes that its independent candidates have a free pass now to switch parties without facing any legal consequences.

CONCLUSION

The iVerify Pakistan team has determined that the claim circulating on social media is false as Mehr Muhammad Waseem is not a candidate for the NA-119 constituency as per the ECP records.

He is also not present in the PTI’s officially issued list of candidates associated with the party while Shahzad Farooq is mentioned on the list as the candidate for NA-119.