Whether it was due to miscalculations or misreporting, the Free and Fair Elections Network, (FAFEN) now faces charges of disseminating misinformation which could disrupt the peace and cause strife among various sections of the public.
Police in Rahim Yar Khan District have lodged an FIR against the FAFEN chief Syed Mudassir Rizvi under section 505/B for propagating wrong information with the intention to disrupt peace under section. The FIR was lodged on the orders of the DPO Rahim Yar Khan, SSP Sohail Habib Tajik.
FAFEN had reported that in NA 195 and NA 193 the voter turnout was more than 240% on the day of elections, but the official figures say otherwise.
Given the volatile post-election political climate, the FAFEN report, according to police, can cause a riot in the constituency.
FAFEN claims that voter turnout was more than the total registered voters in many polling stations. The network has backed its claims on reports of its representatives appointed at each polling station.
FAFEN has raised objections on the results of 49 constituencies of the provincial assemblies and the National Assembly after taking samples from 8,119 polling stations. It has also demanded the ECP take notice of the situation.
Despite the objection raised by FAFEN that voter turnout was more than 240% in NA-193 and NA-195, the official numbers presented a different story in Rahim Yar Khan.
According to the results in NA-193, Sheikh Fayazuddin of PML-N has won with 86,015 votes beating Mian Abdus Sattar of PPP who had secured 46,134 votes. Total registered voters in 257 polling stations in sub district Khanpur of Rahim Yar Khan were 288,381 and total votes cast were 163,913.
Similarly, results issued by the returning officer Justice Sardar Muhammad Khan in NA-195 in sub district Rahim Yar Khan of the same district, the total registered voters are 307,813 and votes cast are 172,539. Winning candidate Syed Mustafa Mehmood of PPP secured 97,769 votes beating the independent candidate Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiyar who had secured 46,888 votes.
As per the official record, the FAFEN figures are completely off the mark.
Police lodged the separate FIRs in Khanpur police station and Iqbalabad police station in Rahim Yar Khan on the applications of the respective station house officers of the police stations.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2013.
COMMENTS (13)
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fafen report is totaly wrong.....i challenge......overvoting is not possible election commission issue only ballet papers not more that actual number of votes
whi is funding fafen. it took 45 million dollars from USAID for this observation. Is there any one to check it out
It's a long standing practice of the USA have their proxy NGO organizations declare elections null and void and bring in their handpicked government through unconstitutional measures, this is how all the 'color revolutions' occurred in the East-European former USSR Republic.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/07/08/belarus-under-siege/
We must all ask ECP to release polling station-wise result for every constituency along with Form XIV before notifying winners. The forms will provide evidence for any rigging that has taken place. Time is too short. The ECP will have to notify winners after the 10th and before the 15th days of election. These are public documents and people need to have access to them. Write to ECP at secretary@ecp.gov.pk
Please be happy with the situation that country successfuly held the election , and the thread of Taliban was not considered seriosly by the 60% percent of the Voters , if there is some rigingh eletion terbunal are ready to take the complaints . It wouild be better to for appeals rather then raising hue and cry every where.
You people have gone mad .
How can ONE small organization be so reliable and authentic as compared to the vast network of ECP and major New Channel election teams like that of Geo.
Why is everyone so hyped about FAFEN ? What are the TRUE MOTIVES of this FAFEN ?
Election Commission which has tons of staff is lame and FAFEN with its limited projections is righteous ?!!!
So FAFEN faces charges of trying to instigate riots, what about our media outlets. Are they ever going to be blamed for sending out false information, misleading the majority, campaigning for particular political parties, instigating crime and violence and sensationalizing every bit of information. When is this going to stop? How is the Media FREE AND FAIR.
A recent example of GEO TV showing polling station-wise results before the results even came out. Declaring PMLN the winning party, showing PTI supporters that the elections were rigged, etc.
These people should have checked FAFEN report before publishing it. FULL STOP!
FAFEN should be banned
FAFEN report is of individual polling station not of a halqa as a whole. I think FAFEN will give the same explanation against these charges.
@Usman ... in NA 195, PPP candidate won and an independant candidate lost.. just read the the whole report before jumping to conclusions
wow wait a minute.. FAFEN gave their data by each polling station not for whole halqa. whole falqa turout could be lower then 100% but some of those polling station was rigged to maximize winning lead.
FAFEN should have taken extra care and checking prior to realising the statement. Media shall not jump into the story where its found controversy.
PMLN fighting with everyone who is trying to show their rigging