Rebuttal: PML-N, PPP deny PTI’s rigging allegations

Election commission says it made more sense if such accusations came from opposition parties.

PESHAWAR: In response to allegations made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) provincial leadership, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) refuted the accusation that last year’s general elections were rigged, maintaining that the polling process was transparent. 

Fearing a ‘repeat’ of the May 11, 2013 rigging in local government (LG) elections to be held next month, PTI’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) president Azam Swati expressed deep concerns over the state of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) earlier this week, stating that ECP was a ‘joint venture’ between PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which deprived PTI of its seats in the province.

Swati accused the ECP of not preventing rigging in last year’s polling, adding that had the commission been an independent body, it would have at least investigated the matter.

PPP also countered PTI’s allegations, claiming that it was targeted during general elections.

Adviser to the Prime Minister Amir Muqam strongly opposed Swati’s allegations, saying that PML-N should be the one expressing reservations since majority of K-P seats were won by PTI, adding that if May 11 polls were rigged, PTI would have never formed its government in the province.

Muqam expressed his party’s shock at the allegations and said that politicians should be more mature. He also questioned the accusation that the upcoming Local Government (LG) polls would be rigged, adding that PTI had a strong presence in the province, which would benefit them in the election process.

“No one can even think about rigging in K-P since everything is being monitored by members of the party contesting the polls,” Muqam said. PPP’s former provincial president Rahimdad Khan said his party was targeted in the May 11 polls, pointing to the loss of his son’s seat as evidence of the fact.

“My son lost his seat when female voters were restricted from casting their vote. The administration was totally under control of our opponents and the target was to push PPP back,” Khan said, adding that PPP had nothing to do with the ECP. He also expressed that his party also wanted an autonomous commission for holding transparent elections. Officials from the provincial election commission termed Swati’s statement as baseless. “The statement should have come from the opposition parties and not the ruling PTI,” an ECP official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2014.