Singer Salman Ahmed can be seen at a PTI anti-rigging protest at Lalik Chowk, Lahore. PHOTO: PTI OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE
As more FAFEN reports of poll rigging flood social media, the case for re-holding elections in some constituencies has become stronger than ever.
Disgruntled supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) have found solace in the ongoing support for protests against rigging in major cities of the country.
Lahore
A protest against rigging in the NA-122 to NA-125 constituency started on May 12 at Lalik Chowk in the city and has continued till the next day (today).
Shifts of protestors have been scheduled to ensure round-the-clock representation, reported Express News.
We want a recount of the votes in NA 122.Imran Khan was clearly the winner.Protest at Ghora Chowk, DHA, LAHORE, at 4 pm..must join for INSAF
— Fauzia Kasuri (@FauziaKasuri) May 13, 2013
Scores of youth, women, seniors and men turned up to show solidarity against the disorganized electoral process.
https://vimeo.com/66061098
Karachi
Supporters of PTI and other disappointed citizens alike protested against the alleged blatant rigging in the city the day after the elections.
Thousands of people gathered at the Teen Talwar in Clifton to demand for reelections all over Karachi. The protest inspired more to join, while also inviting threats from political parties that felt otherwise.
Two more protests have been scheduled for the city on May 13 (today) with one in the heart of the city at Shahrah-e-Faisal and the other closer to the NA-250 constituency at Teen Talwar.
The protests are set to begin at 6:30pm (local time) and may merge depending on turnout.
"These protests are a sign that Karachi has put its foot down. We've been forced into tyranny and oppression for too long, and the last five years proved how our silence can make our citizens suffer. Our demand is peaceful and simple: fair re-elections all over Karachi. We will only accept our governance when voters all over the city are given a fair chance to cast their votes again”, said Amar Abbasi, a supporter and co-organizer of the protests.
Islamabad
Though elections in Islamabad were reportedly fairer than in parts of Sindh and Punjab, PTI supporters decided to rise in the capital to echo the sentiments of others.
"This is showing solidarity to Karachi, Lahore and many more rigged polling stations. The protest is to show we will not remain quiet", said Shahana Khan, a resident of Islamabad and supporter of PTI.
According to an announcement made by the president of the women’s wing in PTI Fauzi Kasuri, there is a protest at D-Chowk at 5:30pm (local time).
Supporters from Rawalpindi have also been invited to join the peaceful protest.
London
A Facebook event invites people to the Pakistan Embassy in London to peacefully demonstrate their disapproval of the alleged rigging.
The event has drawn nearly 2,000 people so far.
The protest is scheduled to be held at the embassy at 4:00pm (London time) and is aimed at gathering support from overseas Pakistani’s among other international communities.
The event page on Facebook suggests that the PTI London team will be joining the protest and emails have been sent out to all volunteers of the PTI United Kingdom wing.
Online petitions
A petition is being shared over social media to gather support for complaint letters to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The petition is on Change.org and has garnered over 6,000 signatures so far. The petition can be found here.
COMMENTS (45)
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It took 42 years for the masses to realise that PPP was taking us towards destruction.Now everybody is aware that PML(N) has taken us hostage by mass rigging.If we lay back,they'll destroy us for good.IK must come out.This is the time for tsunami.
i wonder how long will this new corrupt government survive this time, 2 years or less, i think even less this time, these inept and incompetent fake degree holders, load defaulters can't even put a sentence together, a complete bunch of fools.
The media should stop giving extra coverage to the losers... These trolls will alwayscontinue to cry!
Cricketer Imran Khan & his social media trolls must learn from Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour of ANP who was the first person to congratulate Imran Khan Niazi from NA-1. Imran Khan should grow up now, stop considering himself as dictator General Imran Khan Niazi and put himself in the shoes of a politican!
@Muhammad Khan
Those who caste their vots fo Nawaz Sharif were angels!
Rex Minor
As more FAFEN reports of poll rigging flood social media...ET you are wrong because FAFEN has termed the polls "fair"
Dear Friends of Pakistan, This movement of rigging is being seeded and fanned by very shrewd and defeated fellows/ enemies of Pakistan to create confusion and chaos all over Pakistan. If it grows and supported; an advantage of having successfully elected a democratic Government will turn into blood shed and riots. An excellent opportunity for Army to jump in or terrorists to cease advantage. Be careful and be wise.Keep calm and move forward. It is very easy to spread canard of rigging in any election an old time trick and sure prescription for chaos. A Friend from India
This looks like the start of a revolution. At the moment individuals on the street are fed up listening to lies. Imran Khan is the only new leader & is clean thus far. For this reason people want to try him and for sure if he cant deliver then people will stop voting and will stop fighting. In the 80s there were more number of educated people in Pakistan. As a result of corrupt leader of uneducated masses have come up.
You can see that the uneducated people can't take a correct decision to select a leader. They feel that the corrupt leaders can deliver. These leaders didn't deliver in the past 20 years. PTI has a plan, they have studied various Government models which are successful. Imran Khan has openly challenged all corrupt leaders.He was alone before, but now the Educated people can resonate with PTI's plan. You can witness street power in Karachi & Lahore. It made Altaf Hussein vulnerable. Now the street will get more powerful and soon even Imran Khan can't stop what he has started. It is the beginning of a revolution.
Think about the country not individually or for any particular cast. Vote for Education. Think Pakistan. All that the corrupt leaders have done is planned and made secret deals for personal benefits. No one should be above the Law. Where is the Law, now? The voter rights have been hijacked. The polls were rigged. A precedent should be set for future elections. Re-elections must be organized at the earliest. Why not.
PTI tehrek is the voice of every educated person, but our system is still corrupt hold by sardar,s and jageerdar,s, even though PTI has founded the roots of new Pakistan but we have to try more to convert old pakistan to a new pakistan. We see in the Punjab 70 percent of Dehati people voted to PMLn, we need to educate them. I hope in next election PTI will clean sweep in Punjab and Sindh and Baluchistan, if we continue our struggle against corrupt and ignorant people.
If anyone should complain, it should be PPP, MQM and ANP. Had the whole election process been free and fair all through, PTI would not have reached double figure in the number of seats. PTI was pushed up by Pasha and enjoyed army's support over the last 18 months. In the last 3 months, talibans gave all unfair advantage to PTI by preventing PPP, MQM and ANP candidates from campaigning. Overall, the elections were fair and PTI has no moral grounds to complain. Even if there was any rigging as claimed by PTI, it only compensates for the unfair advantage they got in the last 3 months of electioneering.
My prediction, PTI will break up in two or three groups in the next 2 - 4 months. With limited number of seats, there will be too much infighting for power that IK will not be able to control. If Nawaz Sherif forms a government in KP, it will hasten the process.
@Muhammad Khan: It says he got 84417 votes.. whats wrong with you dude
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) formulated 14 election tribunals across Pakistan to investigate the rigging allegations put forth by various political parties.
PTI worker please stop crying. no need to " cry over spilt milk". It was predicated. Imran you have a good chance in KPK to prove himself that you have ability to run country. I have all my good whishes with you. I want to see your mature political decisiones. First make a goverment and to run in a better way it is two-edged sword.
PTI supporters still want imran khan, the world is full of foolish peoples. Stop it guys things are over now admit it you are clean sweeped by PML N . Im from NA 122, Khan will never be able to win from 122 because the other man Sardar Ayyaz Sadiq got too much level and was supported by whole of the NA 122. See his history that man was consistent MNA from last ten years.
@pmln141: if he had a sportsman spirit he would have congratulated nawaz.
@Fudge:PTI candidates should present their evidences to ECP instead of causing anarchy, they know a relection is not going to help them, there is youth factor for pml n as well. Lahore is a big big city and so is karachi, not everyone is on social media or commenting on news sites.They simply do not realize this fact
Dear PTI lovers,
Consider we are winners and let loser do whatever they are doing! our captain is true leader! We salute him!
well i knew IK and his supporters will definitely complain after loosing.Wheres the sportsman spirit of Khan now? It is politricks.Sportsmen not known to be national leaders. As far as i know there is not a single incident where a sportsmen is elected to highest post in any country. whereas in some cases actors are made chieftains,ministers and chief-ministers. Politics is not a cup of tea for sportsmen.The crowds khan addressed were purely the middle-class and upper-middles (put it informally we say it mummy daddy class) leaving out the masses from impoverished rural communities who wear torn chappals,smelly shirts and own carts or bicycles unlike urbans with bikes and saloon cars.The Sharifs on other hand are well immersed in politics they targeted the lower class and won their billions sympathies.in addition they the ex cm punjab Shahbaz Sharif had enough feathers in his cap,like MBS,Dengue Eradication,Yellow Cab,Roads etc to collect votes esp from Punjabis of rural areas. @Pti: please accept the results and celebrate your victory in kpk and let Sharifs run the country for next 5 years.God bless y'all.Have a nice day.
well i knew IK and his supporters will definitely complain after loosing.Wheres the sportsman spirit of Khan now? It is politricks.Sportsmen not known to be national leaders. As far as i know there is not a single incident where a sportsmen is elected to highest post in any country. whereas in some cases actors are made chieftains,ministers and chief-ministers. Politics is not a cup of tea for sportsmen.The crowds khan addressed were purely the middle-class and upper-middles (put it informally we say it mummy daddy class) leaving out the masses from impoverished rural communities who wear torn chappals,smelly shirts and own carts or bicycles unlike urbans with bikes and saloon cars.The Sharifs on other hand are well immersed in politics they targeted the lower class and won their billions sympathies.in addition they the ex cm punjab Shahbaz Sharif had enough feathers in his cap,like MBS,Dengue Eradication,Yellow Cab,Roads etc to collect votes esp from Punjabis of rural areas. @Pti: please accept the results and celebrate your victory in kpk and let Sharifs run the country for next 5 years.God bless y'all.
@Jawad: I am from Karachi and will only speak on the behalf of my people. People are out on the streets against a certain political party for their manipulation of the election results. No one has ever dared to do this, not in this lifetime, this has shocked the boss in London. He has been issuing statements targeting the integrity of Pakistan and we are out on the streets against this. Its more than just social media. About time you realize the power of social media and the change we can bring.
thnx ET that u mentioned the link of petition :)
I suggest these kids to get a life & go home. There are ways to deal with such issues through ECP procedures. I am sure, 99% of these tots & teens don't even know about it. For those, over-obsessed with PTI, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=564137946941855
@Overseas Pakistanis....If Army intervenes then they are accused of rigging the polls.If they do the job they are assigned with then they are called NOT SINCERE.Whats else should Army do?Army has lived upto their promise of conducting elections on 11 May.It was upto the Nation that they should have made sure no body dares to rigg the votes.Its actually the Nation for whom i am saying SHAME ON US ALL.Stop blaming others for our own blunders.
Elitists suppressing the vote of poor. 130 seats in not rigging.
This is shameful You lost and now creating anarchy. Class wars of highest order. Elitists suppressing the vote of poor. 130 seats in not rigging.
@Barooq....{{{This is shameful You lost and now creating anarchy. Class wars of highest order. Elitists suppressing the vote of poor. 130 seats in not rigging.}}}
There are loads of clear evidence that suggest that massive rigging was done in Karachi, Hyderabad and some part of central Punjab. A good majority of PTI voters is educated and aware of their rights, and their protest against the possible rigging is within their democratic right. Don't take away their democratic right from them.
@FACT: Listen up dude, the people on the streets of Karachi and Lahore were all these social media people jinko "burger" and "mummy daddy" kids kaha jaata hai. These karachiites are the ones jinho ne MQM ke against awaaz uthayi hai; jo aaj tak aur koi nahi utha sakka. Now these "social media" ppl are not just sitting infront of their laptops but have started protesting out on the roads openly. Im pretty sure you wont agree to the fact ke rigging hui hai because people like you are the ones who have closed their eyes and are saying ke humara tou koi waasta hee nahi iss mulk se people like you have DESTROYED this country.
despite massive support from media and army, pti's tsunami limited to teacup..stir it as you might create some whirlpools atleast ,sore losers....congrats nawaz and co
The 65% percent turnout was not for PMLN and MQM. The elections were massively rigged! That is a fact not an allegation! We will protest We will protest hard!
PTIers need to get out of the utopia called social media . Accept your folly and stay put .
I demand Election Commision to conduct next polls on social media so that the nation can embrace the Tsunami.
@Karachiets:
Kindly, note in Karachi, PTI wants a rerun but that is not the demand in Lahore. In Lahore they want their candidate to be declared as winner. A reelection is not going to help them in Lahore they know it well.
Is PTI ready for re election in Lahore.Even with UN army inside every polling stataion, they will loose as Tusnami has failed to be realized and most people are runing away from PTI fast.Especially un gracious behaoiur of PTI and its leader since his fall and after the elections has disappointed many.
@Barooq: Kindly, be kind with the Tsunami fans, you need to understand that they are going through an emotional breakdown. They have started realizing that the world outside social media is quite different.
Its now open secret that the elections were rigged massively especially in Karachi/Hyderabad and some seats of Lahore. My suggestion is; 1. The re-election to be done on all disputed seats. 2. Instead of spreading the poling stations in deep areas of the city, some special arrangements may be made where poling to be done at UC level with proper armaments. 3. As the number of poling stations would be less, tight security arrangements are comparatively easy. 4. Media should be invited to broadcast the voting.
@Barooq: this is the parha likha sector that supports PTI who cannot accept defeat, for once go out of your little facebook and social media world to see the amount of support PML N actually has..
Along with protests, PTI should be filing legal cases so that the proper judicial path can be followed for a resolution.
rigging at its best, ECP website says, IK got only 49 votes in NA-122... any sane person can believe it ?
http://ecp.gov.pk/electionresult/Search.aspx?constituency=NA&constituencyid=NA-122
@Barooq: what are you talking about? my vote and of several other countless citizens was being rigged right in front of our eyes. We stood outside for several hours. We have been deprived of our right and we will not take this anymore. I am most definitely not an elite neither are my friends. We are honest hard working citizens. Maybe its time you guys stop bowing to your bosses.
Give us dictatorship over these fraudulent elections any day. Shame on ECP, shame on Pak Army. Give people the right to vote or stop calling this democracy. Why can't they just promise re-election under Army's supervision. Because Establishment has other plans for Karachi. I have serious doubts about the if the forces who run this country are actually sincere to this nation. Very disappointed - they should have just swapped seats with opposition instead of wasting so much money and time/lives.
@ET please publish this comment
Establishment always back establishment parties, it is proved in this election.
This is shameful You lost and now creating anarchy. Class wars of highest order. Elitists suppressing the vote of poor. 130 seats in not rigging.
Elections were rigged after victory speech by Nawaz shareef before election results were final. Results of all seats where PML-N was winning were announced. Any seat on which PTI was winning like NA 122, 125, 126 and 128 were stopped and manipulated. Karachi rigging was at its best. Everyone one knows it. All parties boycotted or protested. ECP and care takers failed terribly.
Where is the Chief Justice?? Why has he not taken suo moto notice of this? Where is judicial activism now that PPP is gone?? The evidence for poll rigging is not little and is very strong and unambiguous! The countries institutions need to sit up and take notice!