NA-122 vote audit: Commission spots ‘irregularities’ but discounts rigging

Says poll might be affected if ECP declares irregularities as ‘unlawful’

LAHORE:

The inquiry commission – formed by an election tribunal to look into allegations of rigging in the NA-122 constituency – said on Saturday that though it has found ‘some irregularities’ in the polling it discounts the possibility of wholesale electoral fraud.

It was from this constituency that PML-N’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq defeated PTI chief Imran Khan in the May 2013 elections.

Talking to media, the one-man inquiry committee’s head Ghulam Hussain Awan said he also could not find any bogus or forged ballots during the audit of votes cast at the constituency.

“During the process of inspection some irregularities were found in the polling record. However, I did not find any forged or bogus votes. In my opinion, the elections at this constituency were not rigged,” Awan said.

The inquiry commission head, however, clarified that if the tribunal declared the irregularities as ‘unlawful’ then the election might be affected.

Earlier, Awan was also cross-examined at the election tribunal, which later directed Ayaz Sadiq, who is also the National Assembly speaker , to present his defence witnesses by January 31.



The commission, which submitted its report on January 12, had revealed 519 discrepancies in the election record. It had shown that 23,639 counterfoils were unsigned and unstamped while 3,642 votes were invalid.

Cross examining the commission’s chief, the PTI’s counsel Advocate Anees Ali Hashmi expressed strong reservations on the report and claimed that several vital irregularities were not made part of it.

He said the PTI’s representatives had informed the commission about a number of ballot papers which were different in colour and size from the original ballots papers; however, the commission did not mention the fact anywhere in the report.

Hashmi said the voter numbers are mentioned on top of the counterfoils of votes and if the voter numbers are not mentioned then the counterfoils are declared invalid.

“And the PTI representatives had informed the commission that more than 500 counterfoils had no voter numbers but this irregularity was also not made the part of the report,” he said.

The PTI counsel also asked the commission as to why the details of unused ballot papers were not mentioned in report. On this, the commission chief replied that he did not regard it as essential.

Hashmi also raised objection to the phrase ‘minor irregularities’. “How could these be called minor irregularities?” he asked.  The PML-N’s counsel advocate Khawaja Saeeduz Zafar said the matter was being lingered on unnecessarily as the picture was clear now.

He asked the commission as to whether it could declare the election rigged due to the negligence of the staff, which committed ‘minor irregularities’. However, the tribunal judge reminded him that such a verdict could not be handed down by the commission. “It is for me to decide this,” he said.

Zafar asked the commission as to what was the status of those counterfoils which had no signs and stamps of the presiding officers. The commission replied that it had declared the votes, which had the CNIC number, voter number and thumb impressions, as valid.

Earlier, the PTI counsel had submitted an application before the tribunal, contending that forms 14-15 and packing invoices should be made part of the record as the above mentioned are missing from record of most polling stations.

Earlier in the day, the PTI Information Secretary Shireen Mazari refuted the government’s claims that there was no rigging in the NA-122 constituency and demanded the resignation of National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

Mazari said the commission’s judge said his mandate was to see what irregularities had occurred. “It is now up to the tribunal judge to decide on rigging in light of these irregularities,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2015.