Elections in NA-46 ‘a historical drama’: Candidates
Demand fresh polls to bring democratic change.
Hardly 4,000 were polled out of 160,000 registered voters for the constituency. PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
Candidates from NA-46 Khyber Agency blamed the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP), the governor and the political administration for disrupted elections in the constituency. In a round of press conferences on Monday, the contestants also pointed fingers at each other for the electoral mess on Saturday.
In the first press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, 14 candidates and dozens of infuriated party workers criticised the ECP for removing the names of thousands of voters from the electoral list.
Independent candidate Munsif Ali Khan called the election in Khyber Agency ‘a historical drama’ staged by the political administration and the ECP, while the people had eagerly awaited democratic change.
“Eighty five per cent of the voters were absent from the electoral list,” argued Munsif. “The list provided to one candidate was also different from the list with other candidates.”
Moreover, he alleged the ECP registered a large number of tribal voters in various constituencies across Peshawar and other parts of the province; those living in camps for the internally displaced in K-P were included in the electoral roll for the agency. This move was aimed to deprive voters of their right to vote, maintained Munsif.
Hardly 4,000 were polled out of 160,000 registered voters for the constituency. In Jalozai Camp 500 out 1,900 voters were polled and in Durrani Camp only 187 registered voters out of 2,757 cast their ballots. Therefore, the candidates demanded, re-elections should take place under “the impartial supervision of the Pakistan Army,” but after obtaining accurate electoral rolls.
Former federal minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi held a similar conference, where he also demanded repolling the entire constituency under the army. He blamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shaukatullah Khan for overtly supporting his preferred candidates.
“The ECP has totally failed to deliver; its officials were bribed by candidates – especially independents Mohammad Shah and Haji Waris – to remove the name of my voters from the electoral list.” Hameedullah demanded Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim to resign as he had failed to deliver free and fair elections.
He maintained all presiding officers had been heavily bribed by the candidates to manipulate results. Hameedullah showed videos of polling stations plundered by people, and ballot papers which were torn up after the ballot boxes were destroyed by the mob.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate was the next to appear at the Press Club. Visibly upset about his son who had been injured during the polling riots on Saturday and is now in coma, he said the ECP was responsible for the entire ‘mess’. It was responsible for conducting the electoral process in a volatile region which still “remains under a British Colonial system.”
Iqbal carried with him ballots cast in his favour which had been torn up later.
“We told officials to restart voting in two polling booths which were shut down after fights, and would have results favouring the PTI but the presiding officers refused. When we insisted, firing erupted and my son was injured,” narrated Iqbal.
He blamed candidates Waris Khan and Imran Afridi for starting fights, which eventually led to heavy firing.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2013.
Candidates from NA-46 Khyber Agency blamed the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP), the governor and the political administration for disrupted elections in the constituency. In a round of press conferences on Monday, the contestants also pointed fingers at each other for the electoral mess on Saturday.
In the first press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, 14 candidates and dozens of infuriated party workers criticised the ECP for removing the names of thousands of voters from the electoral list.
Independent candidate Munsif Ali Khan called the election in Khyber Agency ‘a historical drama’ staged by the political administration and the ECP, while the people had eagerly awaited democratic change.
“Eighty five per cent of the voters were absent from the electoral list,” argued Munsif. “The list provided to one candidate was also different from the list with other candidates.”
Moreover, he alleged the ECP registered a large number of tribal voters in various constituencies across Peshawar and other parts of the province; those living in camps for the internally displaced in K-P were included in the electoral roll for the agency. This move was aimed to deprive voters of their right to vote, maintained Munsif.
Hardly 4,000 were polled out of 160,000 registered voters for the constituency. In Jalozai Camp 500 out 1,900 voters were polled and in Durrani Camp only 187 registered voters out of 2,757 cast their ballots. Therefore, the candidates demanded, re-elections should take place under “the impartial supervision of the Pakistan Army,” but after obtaining accurate electoral rolls.
Former federal minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi held a similar conference, where he also demanded repolling the entire constituency under the army. He blamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shaukatullah Khan for overtly supporting his preferred candidates.
“The ECP has totally failed to deliver; its officials were bribed by candidates – especially independents Mohammad Shah and Haji Waris – to remove the name of my voters from the electoral list.” Hameedullah demanded Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim to resign as he had failed to deliver free and fair elections.
He maintained all presiding officers had been heavily bribed by the candidates to manipulate results. Hameedullah showed videos of polling stations plundered by people, and ballot papers which were torn up after the ballot boxes were destroyed by the mob.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate was the next to appear at the Press Club. Visibly upset about his son who had been injured during the polling riots on Saturday and is now in coma, he said the ECP was responsible for the entire ‘mess’. It was responsible for conducting the electoral process in a volatile region which still “remains under a British Colonial system.”
Iqbal carried with him ballots cast in his favour which had been torn up later.
“We told officials to restart voting in two polling booths which were shut down after fights, and would have results favouring the PTI but the presiding officers refused. When we insisted, firing erupted and my son was injured,” narrated Iqbal.
He blamed candidates Waris Khan and Imran Afridi for starting fights, which eventually led to heavy firing.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2013.