A former additional secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Afzal Khan has claimed that the 2013 parliamentary polls were massively rigged.
“I had doubts, but now I’m convinced that there was widespread rigging in the May 2013 general elections,” Khan said in an interview to a private television channel. “The day Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan admitted that 60,000 to 70,000 votes were unverifiable in each constituency, I was convinced that the elections were rigged,” he said.
The ECP member from Punjab, Justice (retd) Riaz Kayani, has 90% role in undermining the authenticity of the polls, while former chief justices of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Tassaduq Husain Jillani were also responsible for what he called ‘stealing the mandate of people’.
“I disagree that there were 35 ‘punctures’ as claimed by [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman] Imran Khan. I believe there were hundreds of ‘punctures’. Barring Islamabad and a few other places where cameras were installed, there was widespread ballot stuffing,” Khan said.
He claimed that the rigging was well planned and orchestrated. How could Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar know that thousands of votes cannot be verified in each constituency while the ballot boxes were sealed?
All the returning officers (ROs) were appointed by Iftikhar Chaudhry. Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as the chief election commissioner was only approving the decisions taken by Riaz Kayani. “Fakhru Bhai should have spoken out or at least taken notice on record,” Afzal said. Even the ECP members representing the other three provinces were afraid of speaking out against Kayani.
The whole machinery was working in a coherent manner to fix the elections, he said. Cases challenged in election tribunals were deliberately delayed. Though the tribunals were mandated to decide the complaints within 120 days, they took more than 365 days and were still delaying verdicts, he said. “The election tribunals are compromised,” Khan said.
The ECP had asked for the appointment of ex-judges as returning officers so that they might decide the cases quickly, but we see that instead they delayed the whole process and enjoyed benefits and perks from taxpayers’ money while taking decisions on the whims of a particular group, Khan alleged.
Asked about the printing of ballots, he said these are printed under the military’s supervision. “For last many elections, the printing of ballots in Karachi and Islamabad is done in the presence of military officials, it is a rule,” he said. About ballots being printed in Lahore’s Urdu Bazaar, he said the Printing Corporation of Pakistan, Islamabad, and the Securities Printing Press, Karachi, are strictly monitored institutions, the paper and the ink they use can be verified even after a hundred years.
Khan said he doubts that there was over-casting because of on-ground experience. “A constituency shows 50% turnout and suddenly there was 100% voting or even more than registered voters, then we could be sure that there was ballot stuffing.”
He agreed with the allegations levelled by Imran Khan and said that there should be an investigation and the responsible persons should be tried and punished.
Khan said re-election or mid-term elections under the present set-up would be useless. The ECP needs to be reconstituted, he said. There should be biometric verification and locally developed electronic voting system.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2014.
COMMENTS (109)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@Fahim Gul:
Agree, if IK wrong he should quit politics, but NS & his family should not be allowed this time to leave for KSA, but should be investigated for rigging etc; & given examplenary punishment to all involved....today we are in a mess, because there is no accountability. NAB does some, but the accused is set free under the clause of voluntary return of stolen money. This way none of the corrupt who are identified to have looted money never gets punished, but are encouraged to do again, because they know, what maximum will happen ? accept the guilt & agree to return the money & go scot-free.What kind of accountability is this ?
Unfortunately, we have to come to a situation where PMLN supporters would not believe there was rigging even if Nawaz Sharif comes and admits to it.
The army generals are at it again. This election thingy is another one of the army's straw-man and trojan horse attacks to unseat another elected government and take over power directly or put in place an army's favorite civilian puppet.
What about the Army's statement immediately after the elections that elections were by and large fair? So is army also involved in rigging? Ridiculous !!
If Nawaz Sharif strongly believes that elections were not rigged and were free,fair and transparent then why is showing the hesitation to conduct fully authoritative,free and uninterrupted inquiry committee for inquiry of the Afzal Khan's allegations of 90% rigging in the May 2013's elections??????
what Afzal khan says is his belief ( earlier he has doubts). but then let there be audit of votes of a few constituencies of IK's choice and if IK is proved right audit of all 34 constituencies votes be carried out. There are certain procedures for keeping a check and balances in the election system being followed by many countries which may be adopted and democratic set up be strengthened.
@Zain:
Wait for documentary evidence when ballot papers are verified to have been printed from other sources other than Printing Corp of Pakistan...all those tv clippings are also evidence...all it need a honest set of judges of SC to get the matter properly investigated.
2) Wait when those exposed are brought in front of peoples court & investigated against alleged crimes. Remember Edward Snowdown.? ..how long did he take to expose the wrong doings of CIA, only after he fled to Russia, so this answer must rest the question of his exposure after more than a year...such whistleblowers too have families, careers & future at stake. What such whistleblowers do are not a piece of cake & need immense courage, especially in a country like Pakistan, where even Mr Tariq ex NADRA had to leave abroad due to threat to him & his family ( he even submitted numbers of cell to police & other intel agencies & SC, from where threats were being received, but nobody cared ) even though SC had re-instated him.
In the meantime, such serious allegation should bring some shame on NS etc; & all those political parties who were also involved in this rigging. No wonder, they all knew that someday they will all get exposed, so save themselves through " save democracy " slogan...what a hypocrisy....they do not care that they all will one day be answerable to Allah swt for doing what they are doing just to maintain status quo & continue looting. Remember the duas of these poor people will never go waste. Our political parties & the elite etc; should not take advantage of the poor people simplicity. Allah swt ke samne dair he andher nahi...only Allah swt knows best when to tie all those criminal together here in this world & herein after...that time perhaps has dawned insha Allah.
The first question that comes after reading this story is to ask for the competence of this person. After being at at a senior position like Addl Secretary, it takes him just a supposed statement from a minister to change his suspicion into a fact. Is this the quality of persons who conducted the elections!
In any case, if he had any integrity to start with he should have written a dissenting note at that time or should have resigned right then or soon thereafter.
By naming names without any evidence he had further proven that it may be personal grudges rather than any bout of conscience pricking which have made him come out with his allegations at this time.
Lastly, 65 plus retired persons with beard are the most dangerous. They have nothing to lose and can only gain the 15 minutes of fame that they may have missed in their lives.
Democracy works when everyone plays their part honestly and competently, when everyone does not as in our country, then democracy becomes a hit and try game, which is being played out very seriously.
Here's what I don't believe Afzal Khan. According to this story today, Afzal said that initially he had doubts about rigging but was convinced of the conspiracy when Chaudhry Nisar “admitted” that 60,000 to 70,000 votes could not be verified in each constituency.
Funnily enough, just yesterday I went through Chaudhry Nisar’s National Assembly speech on YouTube (titled: Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Speech in National Assembly; uploaded 6 Dec 2013) regarding rigging in the elections where he said that 60,000 to 70,000 votes were likely to be not verified in each constituency.
Contrary to Mr. Afzal’s lie, the Interior Minister was not making an “admission.”He was merely saying that due to the poor quality of the ink used that made verifying thumbprint impressions very difficult, it was likely that 60,000-70,000 votes would be found unverified in any given constituency in the country. The point being that unverified votes were not indicative of rigging.
Unfortunately, PTI has often misused this “60,000-70,000” figure to assert its lie that the figure represents the number of “bogus votes” in every constituency. Regarding bogus votes (fake votes), many of them are termed such because of mistakes in typing down CNIC numbers. But that's a different matter altogether.
this is serious allegation against 2 ex chief justice and another ex justice,it should be investigated by independent and impartial panel....if the allegation is true,their pension should be stopped and all their verdict should be review...this is height of moral degradation...
@Syed Ahmad: What happened to Chairman Nadra? He is going with the rithemm
@Gharib Aadmi: I don't know if you are aware but Imran khan has been trying to get the courts to investigate this. The man has been talking about this for over a year.. And he said all along if nothing happens he will have to go to the streets. Which is exactly what he did AFTER a year!
Dear Mr. Afzal khan, Why didn't you reported this earlier. Why now?????????? ""OPPORTUNIST""..
In the above pic which is old, you can see Rana Jawad who is Bureau Chief of Geo in Islamabad. What is he doing on the dias at ECP!!!!
IK was absolutely right about the big game that was played by the status quo system under the broader NRO where Noora league, judges, Nigran set-up, ECP and media were involved. The elections were given a clean chit by European and US org under the same NRO arrangement!!!
Whether this guy lie or not or linked to PTI or not, the broader question is why US and other forces including India are backing NS. What is he doing for them that they want to protect him even if he came as a result of rigged elections!!!
I can sense that this fight that IK is leading right now is a fight for Pakistan's survival!!!
Every one exposed. Wait for the future now for the next release!
I understand that there are charges of corruption pending against this officer. These are allegations at best and there is no evidence
The reason why Pakistan does not have live plays, theatre's, cinema, art shows, circus's, etc, is because our politicians do that better than, Hollywood, Bollywood, combined. Since the past one month, Pakistani news media is stuffing its poor readers, T.V. viewers, with nothing else but the above. Can the news media please give the public a break.
why didn't he raise the issue at the right time at right forums in wider public and state interest. 15 months later in a press conference makes the claim and character of this guy doubtful.
Now whats more ? Mr. Qadri and Imran Both were right and now the credibility of thier stance came from a place where it matters most. Now Its time to change the current pathetic, coorupt status quo/System. Pakistan is in Turmoil and all beneficiaries of this corrupt system teaches us the benefits of democaracy. Democarcy means " Delivery" and what they have delivered?
If These corrupt status quo politicians want that those institiutions which are responsible for the protection of estate dont interfere in thier corrupt practices than this will not happen.
The only solution for democracy to flourish in pakistan is "Delivery" and it doedsn't matter what type of democracy/system be put together. As long as people have thier rights they are with any system.
Long live Pakistan Army Long live every pakistani Long live ImranKhan and Dr. Tahir ul Qadri
"Evidence / Proof"...aaaaahhhh do you recognize rigging videos as evidences..may be not bcz its to much evolved i guess
So u wait for a year and then only come up with allegations. no proofs.
This guy is a member of pti. just see his twitter account. https://twitter.com/MuhamadAfzalECP
"IK said the UN software collapsed in midnight while UN denied it happened....Now Justice Kiani admits that the System actually collapsed after mid night"
PPP, PMLN, ANP, MQM, JUI(F), Judiciary & ECP were on same page. That was to prevent PTI from power. All culprits should be tried under article "6" as they cheated people, tampered their voting right & violating constitution. Hats Off To PTI (People Trust Imran) Hats Off To Pakistani Awam
@Humza: Please don't accept the government propaganda that EU has declared elections having minor discrepancies. Read the EU report below. The Executive Summary is enough to give you an idea of what the EU really wants to say but was reluctant to state in so many words. http://www.eueom.eu/files/dmfile/eu-eom-pakistan-2013-final-report_en.pdf
People like himself were enjoying the perks of tax payers and if he had gotten extension he wouldn't have admitted the rigging.
NS ur time is UP! GAME OVER.....
A last straw on camel's back. Salute to Mr Afzal Khan's courage. It is proved that every thing was fraud in 2013 polls. A big big victory for Imran Khan. What the supporters of this so called democracy and Govt will say now. Nothing, they have nothing to say except only raising fingers on Afzal Khjan's character and starting a character assassination campaign against him but this will serve nothing. Mr justice Kayani's gutter language agast Afzal Khan has proved that there is something black in the bottom.This government and fraud system must go now. Salute to Mr Afzal Khan.
@Hussain: Dude, if PTI and Molvi haven't provided any evidence than perhaps your beloved leaders should come out, investigate the elections and convince us that nothing wrong was carried out. 14 months have past and nobody even tried to carry out an investigation. But then that's not astonishing at all considering the fact that even the FIR for the 14 killings hasn't been registered yet. This is a country where the laws crumble before the strong and its because of people like you who back the wrong people.
Unfortunately the confessions this sinner is making is to the Devil himself, the lowest Devil around. not a supporter of Nooras but atleast not blind either , this episode has clearly shown how low these media ppl can go.
@Rathore: @tauseef: @optimist:
even if its one account against another, Afzal khan's side of the story is still more plausible. I think he raised a very valid point. If the thumb impression with ordinary ink and ordinary paper can be verified then why can't the govt verify the thumb impressions in the election. Why was Arsalan awarded a high profile position which he did not deserve? There is a long list. My only concern is, that this guy did not name PPP as the responsible party which doesn't seem right.
@ Syed Ahmad
It took, for a person like, Mr. Afzal to gather courage and come out against rigging, after 11 long days of people sit in under scorching heat, rain and bear hunger and thirst... Coming out against MAFIA has not been ever easy... Appreciate Mr. Afzal rather than criticizing!!!
Story of the drama is moving ahead as per script written by Establishment.
Was there ever any doubt that there was significant rigging - enough to make the elections null and void. Massive or significant Rigging has been there in every election, other than the 1970 elections where Mujib's Awami League won the highest number of votes and PPP of ZAB the second largest votes. Those were the only honest elections - AND WE DID NOT HONOR THAT Mandate. LOL
NEVER A DULL MOMENT. GO NAWAZ GO. GO PPP GO. GO MULLAHS GO. The music is getting louder and the words are getting even more interesting by the moment. We Pakistanis live in interesting times indeed, very interesting. Viva Qadri Sahib. Viva Imran. Salams
my fellow countrymen :) just answer me who is the beneficiary of the current Corrupt Electoral System. Me, you or any other common man..? NO !! only a few politicians whom we are following blindly.. I am a Pakistani first! and that is why I stand for the revival of the current electoral system. sack all those who were involved even if it was NS..
Another move of General pasha. Army is behind this drama
Why did he apply for extension of his job at Election Commission if it was that corrupt. If anything he must also be investigated by NAB. He proved himself to be an opportunist by selecting this timing. Highly doubtful story
I was reading all the comments and my question to all the blind supporters of PML-N is this: why don't you argue against the points made by him instead of questioning his credibilty and his timing of revelations? I saw the entire program and is now facing a life threat! That should answer why he came up late with all this. Secondly, about his credibilty, He clearly said in the interview that an inquiry into all of this should be done and anyone found guilty including Him should be hanged Please be open minded and try to accept things which influence you and me everyday.
"There should be biometric verification and locally developed electronic voting system." 1. Then you can say goodbye to elections for a decade and more. 2. Honest elections predate technology by a century and more 3. The only requirement for honest elections is the character of a people.
So he doesnt get extention in job, waits 15 months and come out with allegations and top of that he "DOES NOT HAVE PROOF" of any thing. Great going Afzal. How about now go to Supreme Court and TRY TO PROVE your lies?
@PTI folks - your misery is phenomenal.
briefly Given the diversity of imported races in Pakistan I would not be a bit surprised that saner heads got together and decided to fix the results so that it would appear that Pakistan is not fractured. How massive = how fractured. I guess we will eventually break Pakistan by a vote like Iraq or sudan
"I had doubts, but now I’m convinced" This statement clearly shows that this is just this man's changing opinion. Where is the proof of his claims? There is always some amount of hera-pheri in elections all over the world. It does not mean that the whole election is bogus. Even in the US, George Bush won over Gore amidst a lot of acrimony.
If Imran Khan questions the authenticity of the election then there is nothing wrong with that. He has the right to. If He is proven wrong then he loses credibility forever but if he is correct, then the Sharif brothers lose much more than their positions. Think about it, if Nawaz Sharif was innocent then wouldn't he have issued an investigation into these allegations a while ago. Clear his name once and for all. Wouldn't you. Plus those that ask why Afzal Khan is coming forward now instead of earlier then apparently they haven't been to Pakistan lately.
This move by a PTI member Afzal Khan is an effort to discredit both RCP and SC. By the time Imran is done no institution will left including Army and PTI itself.
Where was this man sleeping since May 2013? What was he waiting for?
Insha Allah all these liars will fail and PML_N will win. Insha Allah establishment will fail and democracy will win.
Imran Khan does not believe in moulvis. But I am sure he will believe in this moulvi.
Finally the cat is out of the bag!! It's time for Mian Sahib to pack up and return to Jeddah or London. Wonder where will all the Butts will go??
I heard the entire interview of thus guy and all he had was his speculations and beliefs that the election might have been stolen. His hypothesis is based on a statement of Nisar saying that 60,000 votes are unverifiable on average in each constituency.
It is so wrong to portray this as "spilling the beans" because he has not narrated any anecdote or personal observation or evidence of systemic rigging. He just says I believe that it must have happened.
Very poor spin on the story.
@Arshad: Why do you care where was he? Prove him wrong, come out clean, sue him for defamation etc etc etc. But the question is ... can you?
All of them claiming rigging will fail in the Judicial Commission. They can only do speeches or conduct press conferences. They can abuse and blame anyone. PTI folks should ask for the evidence. Insha Allah Nawaz Sharif will win the battle.
What a shame for all of us as our institutions could not look after the national interest by failing to ensure free and fair elections. Our country is facing a big crisis due to petty interest of selfish people as it is in national interest this rigging issue needs to be resolved in justful manner.
Go Imran Go.
@PakSal: This drama has been funded by Mush as already admitted by his party.
Well written Drama Serial written by Establishment to derail democracy. Imran, Qadri and this man are puppets of Establishment.
It is strange that this moulvi has no evidence. Imran also has no evidence for all his blames. Everything is in the air. PTI trolls are ready to believe everything that goes against PML-n whether evidence is there or not. PML-n all the way.
@Sceptic: If your noora league has truly won the elections then why has it not facilitated recounting as demanded by PTI? What is there to hide if everything was fine? Live with dignity or die. Alas for Noora league, money matters more than anything, time is up ... almost.
@Fouzia: Even though their mandate is stolen, they have won the hearts of Pakistanis all over. Alas, you can't see.
All drama full of lies. Imran and company should wait till 2018. They will get their next defeat in 2018.
Even the judiciary has lost its sanctity..who should people trust? whom not to? who's saying the truth? what's going on?
Where was this man during last 14 months? All are opportunists. My all support for Nawaz Sharif who is a real Hero. Agenda of these Fasadis is to destroy the economy of Pakistan.
Everything in this world has a price. So this man is also sold. Establishment is gaining its objectives. Drama is going further as per the script written by Establishment.
Afzal Khan's pics are circulating on Social Media where he is seen in PTI's Azadi march, with his wife and daughter. . Can we trust someone on a political issue when the person is a staunch supporter of a political party raising the same issue???
Courts are there. Respected Judicial Commission is there. Why making noise on roads and Press Conferences? Why these people blaming rigging don't bring evidences. It is very easy to arrange a Press Conference and blamce anyone. Go to Judicial Commission if you have any evidence. Allah bless Pakistan. Allah bless Nawaz Sharif.
MARITAL LAW PLEASE !!
Why was this gentleman sitting on these "facts" for more than a year? Did he or anybody else resign after they saw this kind of ballot stuffing? In addition to additional secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan, nobody else has been honest and upfront even after more than a year? For each such official there are hundreds others who do not agree with him. Or they would also wait for a few more years?
where are the law abiding, country loving hawks now? hiding behind the constitution i am sure.
so Imran Khan was right! I had despised this whole Azadi March from the start and cringed at IK's cricket analogies. But to me, this proves beyond doubt that he was and still is Right. The elections were rigged massively despite Fakhro bhai's supervision. I for one, will never doubt Khan sahab again for as long as I live.
Shame on all those who are involved rigging people's mandate in 2013 elections. Imran Khan was right! The whole nation is with you. I'm very proud to be muslim today. The pakistani nation has standed with the truth. I salute each of you who are in the marches. The whole nation is with you and people abroad mr khan. and tahir ul - qadri. To Sharrif Brothers your time is up!
Where was he all this time?And he just bases his sudden Ilhaam on Ch. Nisar's comment.And he doubts overcasting himself.e is just presuming things to get a little exposure for him in the media.
time to setup military courts! all the mullah and the entire savage political cabal with the so called judges needs to be tried and hanged ASAP....look how they are all caught and on one side...Musharraf has also been vindicated as no we know this past crook CJ..
Go Nawaz go !!!
When everyone seems to have colluded with Noora league ... there are still some souls with conscience ... hats off.
Can we have a new set of lawsuits against him please?
PTI, we need to go all the way, no point stopping here, we are on the right path, we need to continue going.
Afzal Khan has provided no evidence of rigging and his allegations seem to have been based merely on his feelings. Why were there no pangs of quilt from him when he was serving as a senior ECP official? What did he do to stop the alleged rigging?
Imporantly, could Mr Afzal Khan explain how he jumped from a lowly news reporter in APP to become a high-ranking bureaucrats within the span of a couple of years? He should have also declared his allegience and friendship with senior PTI office-bearers from KPK and the fact that he attends the PTI dharna rally along with his family daily.
Sorry to Imran Khan, I thought you were wrong. There must be an impartial investigation, perhaps, under an official from UN. If IK is proved wrong then he must retire from politics otherwise Nawaz Sharief along with his flock must book their tickets for Saudi Arabia for good.
IK was right .. all the way. Makes me sad and happy at the same time.
Here you go, Nawaz govt. has NO legitimate footings, as categorically claimed by PTI.
This is why Pakistan fails everywhere. Seniority and strict hierarchies, in every institution even companies, people at lower ranks don't think, and if they think, they don't speak out, and if the unlikely case happens that somebody speaks out, then this person is transferred to an unimportant position. That is the dilemma of Pakistan and that this why there is no progress.... Don't know how this could ever be solved...
Move along people, nothing to see here. Just another enemy of democracy. Lets talk about how to save democracy by giving protection to the people who came to power through rigging.
After comment of Nisar, he had concluded that election were rigged, so now election should be held again to spend more tax payer's money on these secretaries. These secretaries still write books that 1971 elections were won by Mujib through rigging.
Shame on (N) League supporters if they still believe that the elections were not rigged, post Afzal Khan's claims.
Waiting for the PMLN manufactured lies Grabs popcorn.
Oh GOD, please save Pakistan from all these parties who have orchestrated this rigging (PMLN,PPP,ANP, JUIF, JUI, MQM) Clearly validates IK's stance on re-election and Election Commission reformation. Waiting for PMLN trolls
I see new elections
Finally man of courage comes fourth we as a society must keep him under protection his life and family must be under lots of threats like NADRA chairman Tarim Malik, The JIT report is also coming to light I hope that our judiciary would not use excuses to save the model town murderers this time.
He was a top bureaucrat at the ECP and has no evidence or documentary proof to back up his allegations/claims? How is this possible?
WOW GUYS - Despite my criticism of Dr Qadri I put my hands up and got to say tht Dr Qadri was RIGHT before and after the elections!!! These elections have been exposed big time and Iftikhar hussain, Justice Jilani and Nawaz Sharif were all involved.. This goes right to the top!!!
God help Pakistan!!!
Long live Mr, Afzal Khan former ECP officer to bring the facts and truth in the knowledge of deaf and blind public of Pakistan its great contribution towards reality which could lead to justice for which Mr Imran Khan and our deaf and blind countrymen are looking for Jaza kala khair Pakistan zinda bad Pakistan pa. Inda bad
Pakistanis like their Muslim brothers in indian Kashmir are pathological liars, destructive minded and anarchists. Also highly environment unfriendly people with an amazing ability to turn even a green lush forest to a desert.
Some lifafas have exchanged hands, I see.
Another nail in the coffin.
All the beneficiaries, their families and kids of this system in power will still defend their king but this won't last forever.
End of days..
Mr. Imran Khan was absolutely correct all this time. I wish pakki people would open their hearts and minds and understand who has been playing with them all along. Unbelievably they are still shouting for PML N
As I supporter of PML I thought the IK was complaining for the sake of it, but these are serious allegations from someone who doesn't have an axe to grind. It may well turn out the IK was right all along. We need a full investigation ASAP.
Alas, people of pakistan want a mirage of democracy rather than a real one. If this doesn't boil your blood then you are whats wrong with this country.
Go Nawaz Go
So this official waits over a year to make his revelation? Why did international observers including the European Union declare that despite minor rigging that goes on in all 3 rd World countries, the elections were largely free and fair. Sounds to me like this guy has his own political agenda and should be ignored.
Hats off to IK. He was 200% right from day one & Afzal Khan proved it. Go Nawaz go. I feel proud to have a leader like IK in Pakistan. IK is truly patriotic, honest, farsighted & brave leader. Pakistan needs Imran Khan.
Et Tu Brute?
Never trust a moulvi. Only now Afzal Khan realized the truth. Where was he for the past 15 months?