ISLAMABAD: Faced with a barrage of criticism over its alleged role in poll rigging, the Election Commission of Pakistan denied the allegations, this time levelled by a senior bureaucrat, Commissioner of Rawalpindi Division.
No official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) directed commissioner Rawalpindi to change the results of the general elections, the beleaguered electoral organisation said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement added that the ECP strongly denied the allegations levelled by the commissioner Rawalpindi Division.
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The ECP press release came in response to a hard-hitting presser from Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Liaqat Ali Chatha in which he categorically accused the CJP and the CEC of patronising the general poll rigging in Rawalpindi Division.
The disclosures, that took the country by storm, claimed that the results of 13 National Assembly seats were rigged to benefit those candidates who lost the elections.
Since the night of February 8 general elections, the roles of the ECP in general, and the CEC in particular, have been under intense criticism.
On February 8 night, soon after the ECP’s much-hyped Election Management System (ECP) broke down, the CEC had left the ECP headquarters on a private visit without his official security and protocol, which fuelled speculations that the CEC met some powerful individuals against the backdrop of EMS breakdown.
Conspicuously, the candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were leading the poll charts with heavy margins against their respective electoral rivals in different constituencies across the country when the EMS suddenly broke down. Several hours later, when the EMS was restored, these candidates lost the polls, as per the ECP’s results.
The electoral entity linked the delay in election results to the unavailability of mobile and internet services. But, the Commission failed to explain the reasons behind the sudden collapse of the EMS.
Also, on February 8, CEC Raja had earlier told the media that the blockade of cellular and internet services would not affect results transmission through EMS.
Like February 8, the scenario involving the election results saw high drama on February 9 too. In the early hours of February 9, the ECP issued a statement stating that the CEC directed the provincial election commissioners and returning officers (ROs) to issue the election results “within half-an-hour,” otherwise, strict action would be taken against them—which never happened.
The CEC denied that he directed the authorities to suspend the cellular and mobile internet coverage across the country on the pretext of security threats. These services were blocked countrywide in the early hours of February 8 and restored on the morning of February 9.
Some candidates from different political parties who won the general elections have forfeited their respective legislative seats, alleging that the poll results were rigged in their favour and against PTI-backed candidates.
Some district returning officers and ROs, who allegedly protested against the alleged rigging have either reportedly been transferred or proceeded against with disciplinary actions.
Since the conduct of general polls, the CEC and the ECP are under fire from public and political circles as well as international stakeholders.
Late-night on Saturday, the ECP held a meeting which decided to form a four-member committee to probe poll rigging allegations levelled by the commissioner Rawalpindi. Ironically, the poll body would itself investigate the election rigging allegations against it, as the committee would solely comprise the ECP officials under the leadership of a senior ECP member.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024