Imran slams ECP for ‘condoning’ polling staff

The behaviour proves that ECP has been involved in rigging, and does not want to hold fair elections, says Imran

ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan has once again criticised the country’s top polls supervisory body — this time for ‘condoning’ the election staff allegedly involved in anomalies in last year’s local government polls in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Talking to the media on Thurs­day, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman said that instead of punishing the officials, the Election Commission of Pakistan has ‘condoned’ all of them. “This proves our stance that the ECP has been involved in rigging, and it does not want to hold fair elections.”

He said the electoral body had violated the law by ‘pardoning those found involved in polling irregularities’. “The ECP has pardoned 200 to 400 people who were involved in rigging in the 2013 general elections. The judicial commission had found them to be involved in irregularities. Action should have been taken against them.”



Imran said the Supreme Court had ordered recounting in Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s constituency, but the minister did not appear before the returning officer despite being summoned four times.

He said the ECP had asked PTI leader Hamid Khan to deposit Rs2 million to Rs2.5 million for verification of votes.

“The polling body has set a limit of Rs1.5 million for election expenses, but it is demanding Rs2 million to Rs2.5 million for verification of votes, and defying its own decision.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2016.