JI protests ‘poll rigging’

Party leader alleged that the ECP failed miserably in protecting the democratic rights of the 250 million people

ISLAMABAD:

Addressing a protest demonstration against alleged rigging in the general elections held on February 8, outside the National Press Club in the federal capital, Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Naib Amir Liaquat Baloch rejected the poll results.

The JI leader demanded caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar to order the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the alleged rigging. “Both the winners and the losers are crying over the election results. This is a loss to the nation and the democracy,” he said while addressing the participants of the demonstration.

“It was the 16th election of Pakistan after 1970, about which people thought that those holding the power would learn from the past but just like every election it was rigged,” he lamented and added that the results were unacceptable to his party.

Read: PTI, JI unite in protest against alleged election rigging

Baloch said Pakistan needed to restore its reputation but, unfortunately, the elections not only gave a divided mandate but also happened to be the most controversial in terms of fairness.

The JI leader alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan failed miserably in protecting the democratic rights of the 250 million people. “Caretaker governments have been facilitators in changing election results,” he alleged.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th 2024.