While rejecting vote rigging allegations of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, an Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) official said that there was no systematic rigging and no extra ballot papers were printed during the general election 2013.
He said the commission has maintained the record on 'Form 15' collected from polling agents. Form-15 was designed to collect data of ballot papers received, used, damaged and not used in the general election 2013. These forms could only be produced in the election tribunals on demand and could not be shared with public under the existing election code of conduct and People Representation Act 1976, an official of the commission maintained.
He further said that returning officers are custodians of record and responsible to maintain the record. Even ECP cannot access the record, according to him. Previously, some civil society organisations showed their apprehensions and demanded of the ECP to upload Form 15 on its website. However, the commission rejected the plea on grounds that they were in millions and could not be displayed on the website.
Defending the role of the commission in holding general elections, the official said that printing of 5.5 million extra ballot papers was impossible as polling agents of mainstream political parties witnessed as they were present at the time of counting of ballot papers. In their presence, Presiding Officers filled forms (Form 15) and sent these to their respective returning officers. Each ballot paper carried an embossed serial number, the official added.
He said that Imran Khan levelled rigging allegations only about those seats that he lost in the general elections. But he never made similar complaints in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his party PTI formed a government. He admitted that there were some irregularities during the elections, but rigging at a mass scale could not be possible under strict election laws.
In August 2014, the ECP had responded to the allegations levelled by Imran regarding the printing of hundreds of thousands of extra ballot papers during General Elections 2013 by Provincial Election Commissioner Punjab through private printing presses located in Urdu Bazar, Lahore.
Giving details of the printing of ballot papers for general elections held in 2013, the ECP official said the decision to print ballot papers for May, 2013 General Elections, was taken by the ECP in a meeting held with the authorities of the Printing Corporation of Pakistan Press (PCPP), Islamabad and Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC), Karachi on 6th and 7th September, 2012. A total of 180 million ballot papers were printed; of which 112.5 million were printed by Printing Corporation of Pakistan Press and 67.5 million by Pakistan Security Printing Corporation. Ballot papers were printed on a special non-market paper, procured by the PCPP. According to PCPP, they procured the paper from two paper mills.
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