ISLAMABAD - With no let-up in protests against the widespread reports of rigging during LG elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, political parties are now demanding re-election in the province.
The ruling PTI is also willing to give way to such a demand, only if the exercise this time is conducted under the supervision of the army.
Senior PPP stalwart and Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Tuesday demanded re-election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying LB elections held in KP were marred by rigging, violence and corruption.
While talking to media persons in Islamabad, Khursheed said PTI ministers have broken all records of electoral irregularities. “Those alleging others must revisit themselves first. Such an election is explicitly null and void,” he added.
Assuring PPP’s support to ANP against alleged rigging, Khursheed said the elections should be held again under strict supervision of army and other paramilitary forces. He said an inquiry commission should be sought to investigate the LB elections in KP.
Khursheed said the PPP would join hands with the coalition parties against the unjust LB elections. “Imran Khan’s tall claims of good governance have been exposed in the elections as he has badly damaged the spirit of elections,” Shah said, in a telephonic contact with ANP central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain.
Reacting to the flood of rigging allegations, , PTI Chairman Imran Khan said Tuesday his party was ready for re-election in the province under the supervision of army.
Making it clear that his party was not involved in rigging during this local bodies election, Khan said all political parties participated in this election and allegations of rigging were being raised only after PTI won this election with majority.
“PTI is ready for re-election in the entire province or at all controversial polling stations under the supervision of army,” Imran said while talking to reporters outside the Supreme Court.
Dispelling the allegation of rigging against his party, Khan again said the holding of free and transparent elections was not the duty of the provincial government but it was Election Commission’s. But PTI will not challenge the re-election in the court despite the fact it had won this election with majority, he said and asked political parties to approach the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for a re-election.
Election Commission of Pakistan, the other day, in an official statement had said that the prime responsibility of law and order in KP during polls was the duty of the provincial government and it had given an advice to it in this connection.
Chairman PTI informed media persons that he had already discussed the issue with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak and that his party’s government had no objection on re-election. He proposed that re-election could be held in phases and too under the supervision of the army.
The local government polls of KP which were held on May 30 not only witnessed irregularities but also violence and unrest in the province and many people were killed or injured in different incidents of violence.
However, Khan expressed his firm resolve that PTI would again win this election with even higher number of votes if ECP ordered re-election.
Declaring the local bodies polls held recently in KP as the biggest election of the country’s history, he said he never witnessed such grass-roots level democracy as thousands of people came out of their homes to participate in the elections.
“Around 84,000 people participated in the elections, 41,000 got elected while about 7,000 women won their seats in this election,” Khan added.
PTI chief told reporters that ECP should take responsibility since it was not the duty of KP government to hold elections. The commission should take the responsibility if it failed to hold elections properly, Khan said but added that mismanagement might not be the fault of ECP
Responding to a question, chairman said that last caretaker chief minister of Punjab Najam Sethi had conceded before the judicial commission that orders were coming from Model Town (residence of PM Nawaz Sharif and CM Shahbaz Sharif).
Being the caretaker CM Punjab, it was his duty to hold free and fair elections and he should have resigned if administration was not under his control.