PTI demands CEC’s resignation over ‘poll fraud’

Alleges ECP members, CEC colluded to strip PTI-backed candidates of mandate bestowed by people

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, accusing him of dereliction of his constitutional and legal duties and playing the role of a facilitator in what it termed as 'poll fraud.'

The PTI further insisted that not only should CEC Raja step down, but the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should also tender their resignations.

It alleged that they colluded to strip PTI-backed candidates of the mandate bestowed upon them by the people in the February 8 general elections, marred by widespread reports of vote rigging.

In a statement, PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan demanded CEC and ECP members’ resignation amid widespread reports of vote rigging during the recently concluded polls.

According to the PTI, the party was cruising with a lead of 170 National Assembly seats before the alleged rigging swung the pendulum in favour of the PML-N.

Party chairman Barrister Gohar Khan stated that the party intended to use legal avenues to highlight this rigging and get back its stolen mandate.

This is not the first time PTI has demanded resignation from CEC as PTI founding chairman Imran Khan has demanded Raja’s resignation on several occasions in the past as well on the allegation that he had joined hands with the PML-N. Imran had even shown mistrust in CEC after his party’s resounding victory on 15 seats in the by-elections held in 20 constituencies of Punjab in 2022.

On Sunday, the PTI spokesperson demanded the immediate resignation of CEC and members of the election watchdog, “who worked as main facilitators in the daylight robbery on public mandate.”
Hasan said that the CEC and ECP members did not have any right and moral justification to say any more on their position since “they completely failed in performing their constitutional and legal duties”.

Read COG lauds ECP, other institutions for holding polls

He added that they even did not have any regard or respect for the Constitution and law.

He further stated that the CEC and ECP members “opened the door to violating the constitution, flouting the law, tarnishing democracy, and desecrating the public mandate.”

In addition, the spokesperson said that imposing PDM-2 on the nation again through daylight robbery on public mandate is unacceptable and intolerable.

While demanding the immediate resignation of CEC, and ECP members, he said that neither people nor PTI would accept any malicious plot come what may. Hasan strongly rejected the ongoing malicious attempts and “shameful drama to tamper with the results to convert PTI’s overwhelming majority into the minority to impose the people-rejected PDM-2 on the nation once again.”

In a strongly worded statement, Hasan vehemently denounced the reprehensible plot to deprive people of their true and genuine representatives, saying efforts were afoot to allegedly steal the public mandate and re-imposed “the gang of criminals on the nation.”

He made it clear that the people of the country would not accept any such nefarious plan and they would safeguard and protect their mandate come what may.

He stated that PTI, being the largest and most popular party in the country, with representation in all four provinces and a decisive public mandate, had the basic constitutional, democratic, moral and political right to form a government.

He recalled that the “rejected and incompetent PDM group” was responsible for Pakistan’s prevailing economic and administrative disaster. He went on to say that inflation-weary people of the country rejected PTI opponents by taking revenge through their power of vote three days ago by inflicting crushing drubbing on them.

The statement said that the PDM’s 16-month-long inept government compounded the public miseries manifolds, saying they skyrocketed the inflation and ruined the fast-thriving economy.