Independent Senate Candidates Received Votes for Rs600,000 Each, Claims Fawad Chaudhry
Islamabad: Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has made serious allegations regarding alleged vote buying and selling in the Senate elections, claiming that some independent candidates received votes reportedly in exchange for Rs600,000 each.
Speaking to journalist Sabookh Syed, Fawad Chaudhry said women elected on reserved seats in the Punjab Assembly allegedly received iPhones in exchange for voting for independent candidates in the Senate elections.
He said reports had also emerged that some independent Senate candidates allegedly secured votes for Rs600,000 each.
Fawad Chaudhry described the current political situation as deeply concerning, arguing that two types of people generally make it to the Senate: individuals who are personal loyalists or employees of political families and have little independent political standing, or people who are made senators to reward them.
پنجاب اسمبلی میں مخصوص نشستوں پہ آئی خواتین نے آئی فون لے کر بھی آزاد امیدواروں کو ووٹ دیے 6/6 لاکھ پر آزاد امیدواروں ( سینیٹ ) کو ووٹ ملا ہے ! فواد چوہدری ۔۔۔ pic.twitter.com/jRcoJEypEn
— AMJAD KHAN (@iAmjadKhann) August 12, 2026
Criticizing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he alleged that similar individuals had been rewarded in the recent Senate elections.
He claimed that even a person who had served water to PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif in London was made a senator.
Fawad Chaudhry further alleged that women who entered the Punjab Assembly on reserved seats were given iPhones and subsequently voted for independent Senate candidates.
He reiterated his claim that some independent candidates allegedly received Senate votes in exchange for Rs600,000 per vote.
The allegations could not be independently verified, and no evidence establishing the alleged transactions was presented in the remarks cited.
