Setting the record straight: Minister dares Imran to debate poll report
All stakeholders of 2013 elections to meet on Friday
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is welcome to debate the post-election review report in parliament, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said on Wednesday. “The report highlighted irregularities in the polling process but that is the responsibility of the ECP and caretaker government,” Rashid said at a press conference also attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister for IT Anusha Rehman.
“Imran Khan had expressed his trust in the election commission, now he should tell us if the ECP report proved even one of his allegations,” Rashid said. “None of his allegations have been proven true.”
Referring to Imran Khan as ‘Bohtan (Slander) Khan’, Rashid said, “The report did not find accusations Bohtan Khan made particularly about printing of ballot papers at a private printing press, 35 ‘punctures’ and the delay in results that rigged the elections.” He added, “The PML-N was not in power when the elections took place.”
The finance minister added, “Even if we gave 20 NA seats as a gift to the PTI, the party would not be able to get a simple majority to form a government.” The PML-N has also released a fact-sheet titled ‘The truth behind PTI’s allegations of rigging’. The PML-N fact sheet included surveys and assessments carried out before the elections, reports after the elections by local and international organizations, a review commission report on the elections and information on PTI’s intra-party elections.
“The PTI committee led by Tasneem Noorani had declared that the reason for the party’s loss was corruption in the distribution of tickets for intra-party polls and other internal issues,” Dar added.
Dar added that the electoral reforms committee will meet on the 29th, and the ECP would give a detailed briefing on allegations of rigging. On September 26, the commission will meet with all stakeholders in the elections including NADRA, PCSIR, Securities and Printing Corporation of Pakistan and the PCP. The role of returning officers in the elections will be discussed and a report submitted to the electoral reforms committee, Dar said.
This is the first election in Pakistan wherein 37 million bogus or duplicate votes were deleted, the photographs of voters published on a voters list and a neutral caretaker set-up installed and the Election Commission composed in a transparent manner, Dar said. He added that the PML-N did not have any member in the caretaker set-up, and Imran Khan had agreed to the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner, the formation of the Commission and the appointment of the caretaker prime minister.
The PML-N won 148 seats of the National Assembly as against the required 136 for simple majority against general seats while PTI got just 34 including those of minorities and women’s reserved seats. Dar asked, “How can a party with just 34 seats lay claim to the formation of a government?”
He said if PTI had any complaints about the elections, it should have filed petitions with the election tribunals. PTI filed 58 petitions including 30 against National Assembly constituencies out of which only 15 were from Punjab and PML-N and PTI candidates were in direct contest in just two of these constituencies, he added. He said the PML-N is ‘more than willing’ to undertake comprehensive electoral reforms to ensure transparency and added that Shah Mehmood Qureshi could take over chairmanship of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms.
Dar said the government could have used force to remove protesters from Constitution Avenue but refrained even as the country suffered huge economic losses. He claimed MoUs worth $32 billion have been delayed due to the continuing sit-ins as the visit by the Chinese president was cancelled. He said five and a half of six demands made by PTI have been accepted by the PML-N, but there are differences over the Terms of Reference of the proposed judicial commission to investigate allegations of rigging.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2014.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is welcome to debate the post-election review report in parliament, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said on Wednesday. “The report highlighted irregularities in the polling process but that is the responsibility of the ECP and caretaker government,” Rashid said at a press conference also attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister for IT Anusha Rehman.
“Imran Khan had expressed his trust in the election commission, now he should tell us if the ECP report proved even one of his allegations,” Rashid said. “None of his allegations have been proven true.”
Referring to Imran Khan as ‘Bohtan (Slander) Khan’, Rashid said, “The report did not find accusations Bohtan Khan made particularly about printing of ballot papers at a private printing press, 35 ‘punctures’ and the delay in results that rigged the elections.” He added, “The PML-N was not in power when the elections took place.”
The finance minister added, “Even if we gave 20 NA seats as a gift to the PTI, the party would not be able to get a simple majority to form a government.” The PML-N has also released a fact-sheet titled ‘The truth behind PTI’s allegations of rigging’. The PML-N fact sheet included surveys and assessments carried out before the elections, reports after the elections by local and international organizations, a review commission report on the elections and information on PTI’s intra-party elections.
“The PTI committee led by Tasneem Noorani had declared that the reason for the party’s loss was corruption in the distribution of tickets for intra-party polls and other internal issues,” Dar added.
Dar added that the electoral reforms committee will meet on the 29th, and the ECP would give a detailed briefing on allegations of rigging. On September 26, the commission will meet with all stakeholders in the elections including NADRA, PCSIR, Securities and Printing Corporation of Pakistan and the PCP. The role of returning officers in the elections will be discussed and a report submitted to the electoral reforms committee, Dar said.
This is the first election in Pakistan wherein 37 million bogus or duplicate votes were deleted, the photographs of voters published on a voters list and a neutral caretaker set-up installed and the Election Commission composed in a transparent manner, Dar said. He added that the PML-N did not have any member in the caretaker set-up, and Imran Khan had agreed to the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner, the formation of the Commission and the appointment of the caretaker prime minister.
The PML-N won 148 seats of the National Assembly as against the required 136 for simple majority against general seats while PTI got just 34 including those of minorities and women’s reserved seats. Dar asked, “How can a party with just 34 seats lay claim to the formation of a government?”
He said if PTI had any complaints about the elections, it should have filed petitions with the election tribunals. PTI filed 58 petitions including 30 against National Assembly constituencies out of which only 15 were from Punjab and PML-N and PTI candidates were in direct contest in just two of these constituencies, he added. He said the PML-N is ‘more than willing’ to undertake comprehensive electoral reforms to ensure transparency and added that Shah Mehmood Qureshi could take over chairmanship of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms.
Dar said the government could have used force to remove protesters from Constitution Avenue but refrained even as the country suffered huge economic losses. He claimed MoUs worth $32 billion have been delayed due to the continuing sit-ins as the visit by the Chinese president was cancelled. He said five and a half of six demands made by PTI have been accepted by the PML-N, but there are differences over the Terms of Reference of the proposed judicial commission to investigate allegations of rigging.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2014.