Now that ECP has taken notice of rigging complaints of the PTI in PP-150, one can hope that justice is done.
ISLAMABAD: This is apropos your editorial “A matter of protest” (August 27). The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a party with a huge following across all segments of society, including educated professionals, who have for the first time chosen to participate in electoral politics. Therefore, it is very unfortunate that massive rigging was witnessed in the May 11 general elections. In Lahore, the scale and brazenness of the rigging provoked our workers to start protests even without any formal call from the party. The PTI appealed through all legal channels for rectification of its electoral grievances but to no avail.
On August 22, history was again repeated in Lahore in the PP-150 constituency, where the victory of the PTI candidate (who won by a margin of 2,100 votes) was converted into defeat by suspected tampering of the result. The earlier PTI lead of 2,100 votes was established by the results collected by the party’s agents from each polling station and these results were also shared by the media. The same lead was initially also conveyed by the returning officer (RO) to the PTI candidate. But later, the same RO declared the PML-N candidate to be the winner by 376 votes. Results of 46 polling stations were changed by over-writing during the time they were being dispatched from the polling stations to the RO’s office. Twenty-seven presiding officers were changed the night before the elections without any knowledge or consent of the PTI candidate.
Peaceful protest is a right of political parties but force was used unnecessarily by the Punjab government, which only reflects its dictatorial mindset. The PTI holds the Punjab chief minister responsible for the arrest and maltreatment of our leaders and workers. There is an absurd argument being made that the PTI should not protest against the naked rigging in Lahore because it is in government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). This is an untenable argument.
Of course, the PTI has to deliver in K-P where it is in power with a coalition. There is no debate on that, but in other provinces, where it is in opposition, it has to play the role of the opposition. Its role of opposition in other provinces and at the centre does not change because it is in power in K-P.
Now that the Election Commission of Pakistan has taken notice of rigging complaints of the PTI in PP-150, one can hope that justice is done efficiently and expeditiously without any delay so that we can move forward. Otherwise, the PTI reserves its democratic right to peaceful protest on the roads and streets of Lahore.
Adnan Randhawa
Central Secretary Information, PTI
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2013.
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