SC orders re-elections in NA-19 Haripur

PTI's Dr Raja Amir Zaman says re-elections should be in all constituencies and not just NA-19

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court on Friday ordered re-elections in NA-19, Haripur constituency after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) accused the winning party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of rigging last year, Express News reported. 

PTI’s Dr Raja Amir Zaman had won the May 11 2013 elections with 117,000 votes. However, runner-up Omar Ayub Khan, who belongs to the PML-N, challenged the results of 78 polling stations, accusing the winner of rigging.

Read: Post-election fiasco: ECP orders recounting in NA-19 Haripur

However, infuriated by SC's decision, PTI's Zaman demanded that the party is ready to go through re-elections if only it is in the whole of Haripur and not just constituency of NA-19.

Separately on June 16 the tripartite alliance in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) held a protest rally in Peshawar, reiterating their demand for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government in the province to step down on the alleged charges of rigging in the recent local government (LG) polls.

They also suggested re-polling under the caretaker setup and supervision of the judiciary.

Read: PTI foes demand fresh elections in K-P

“New Pakhtunkhwa has come into being after a massive rigging in the polls,” said Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan while addressing a huge gathering in Khyber Bazaar, adding, “We have never seen such large-scale rigging and mismanagement in elections in the country’s history.”