PTI unveils ‘white paper’ on rigging
Imran Khan warns of protests if govt attempts to rig today’s by-elections.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan (C) unveils his party's White Paper on Wednesday with senior party leader Javed Hasmi (L). PHOTO: ZAFAR ISLAM/EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf issued its much-hyped ‘white paper’ on rigging in the May 11 elections on Wednesday, as party chief Imran Khan threatened it would carry out protests if the ruling party attempted to rig today’s (Thursday’s) by-elections.
Presenting the 2,350-page document at a news conference, Imran demanded an audit of the 180 million ballot papers issued for the general elections.
“PTI’s white paper gives an overview of the different types of rigging which dominated the May 11 polls,” he told reporters. “It is an effort to get the necessary electoral reforms in place to make rigging impossible.”
The white paper compiles evidence of rigging in 16 National Assembly and 18 provincial assembly constituencies. It contains interviews of several returning officers who admitted massive rigging took place at several polling stations. The white paper also questions the impartiality of a caretaker government ‘whose cabinet contained figures loyal to the previous government’.
Imran urged the Supreme Court to take up his plea to probe rigging allegations. He vowed his party would end its rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa if a single PTI legislator was found guilty of rigging if the SC took up the case.
In the white paper, PTI has also accused the Election Commission of appointing election officials in a non-transparent manner. It states that then chief election commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim failed his constitutional duty to hold fair, free and transparent polls.
“We (PTI) blindly believed in the ECP but it failed to conduct free and fair polls,” said Imran.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2013.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf issued its much-hyped ‘white paper’ on rigging in the May 11 elections on Wednesday, as party chief Imran Khan threatened it would carry out protests if the ruling party attempted to rig today’s (Thursday’s) by-elections.
Presenting the 2,350-page document at a news conference, Imran demanded an audit of the 180 million ballot papers issued for the general elections.
“PTI’s white paper gives an overview of the different types of rigging which dominated the May 11 polls,” he told reporters. “It is an effort to get the necessary electoral reforms in place to make rigging impossible.”
The white paper compiles evidence of rigging in 16 National Assembly and 18 provincial assembly constituencies. It contains interviews of several returning officers who admitted massive rigging took place at several polling stations. The white paper also questions the impartiality of a caretaker government ‘whose cabinet contained figures loyal to the previous government’.
Imran urged the Supreme Court to take up his plea to probe rigging allegations. He vowed his party would end its rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa if a single PTI legislator was found guilty of rigging if the SC took up the case.
In the white paper, PTI has also accused the Election Commission of appointing election officials in a non-transparent manner. It states that then chief election commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim failed his constitutional duty to hold fair, free and transparent polls.
“We (PTI) blindly believed in the ECP but it failed to conduct free and fair polls,” said Imran.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2013.