PTI Chairman Imran Khan (C) unveils his party's White Paper on Wednesday with senior party leader Javed Hasmi (L). PHOTO: ZAFAR ISLAM/EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf issued its much-hyped ‘white paper’ on rigging in the May 11 elections on Wednesday, as party chief Imran Khan threatened it would carry out protests if the ruling party attempted to rig today’s (Thursday’s) by-elections.
Presenting the 2,350-page document at a news conference, Imran demanded an audit of the 180 million ballot papers issued for the general elections.
“PTI’s white paper gives an overview of the different types of rigging which dominated the May 11 polls,” he told reporters. “It is an effort to get the necessary electoral reforms in place to make rigging impossible.”
The white paper compiles evidence of rigging in 16 National Assembly and 18 provincial assembly constituencies. It contains interviews of several returning officers who admitted massive rigging took place at several polling stations. The white paper also questions the impartiality of a caretaker government ‘whose cabinet contained figures loyal to the previous government’.
Imran urged the Supreme Court to take up his plea to probe rigging allegations. He vowed his party would end its rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa if a single PTI legislator was found guilty of rigging if the SC took up the case.
In the white paper, PTI has also accused the Election Commission of appointing election officials in a non-transparent manner. It states that then chief election commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim failed his constitutional duty to hold fair, free and transparent polls.
“We (PTI) blindly believed in the ECP but it failed to conduct free and fair polls,” said Imran.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2013.
COMMENTS (7)
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If you read IK's statement you will that he is not asking for new elections. He is asking gov't of Pakistan to make sure that this does not happen again regarding of party affiliations.
Quick question: Why is there no mention in this "white paper" of PK-93 and PK-95 (Dir) in which women were barred from voting by a diabolical agreement between ALL candidates? I would think barring half the electorate from voting is the highest form of rigging.
Massive rigging was done in Nowshera (Pervez Khattak won from there), reported by FAFEN too but he won't talk about it. Why this hypocrisy sir?
last 70 years we r just doing "GO AHEAD",we need to be still and meditative ,where we are wrong,IK have definitely "RIGHT MOVE"
last 70 years u r just moving ahead and ultimately we are in trap, when we stand and think, where we need to make RIGHT MOVE, IK is just trying for RIGHT MOVE.
FEFAN showed that there were polling station where over 100% votes were polled and PTI candidates won. Hope the report includes those cases also.
.............The white paper compiles evidence of rigging in 16 National Assembly and 18 provincial assembly constituencies. ...........
Why did PTI choose only 16 National and 18 Provincial assembly constituencies? Is it because rigging was only limited to those seats, or not as wide spread as PTI been claiming all along? In any case it is a mute exercise to talk about rigging three months after the election. What is more important is that in light of this as well as any other evidence out there what should be done to minimize rigging in the future.
Casting doubt on past election, or cursing them is not a good omen. Losers always do that. Imran Khan needs to accept that he has lost the election and it is time to move forward. Country has myriad problems and all the energy must be focused to solve those problems rather than whining that I was cheated on this seat or that. Yes, it was wrong but at the end no one stole tsunami that Imran Khan was dreaming. Its was people's verdict that he is not the right choice to lead the government and everyday he proves himself that anticipation was correct.