Needs to give itself aspirin
The rigging claims are getting bizarrer by the day: from protests started by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporters in NA-250 Karachi and NA-125 Lahore, the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Jamaat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and even the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) joined the bandwagon. Now the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which emerged with a clear majority, has alleged rigging in Lahore NA-126. While on some counts, it appears to be nothing more than a case of who got the sour grapes, on others, there appears to be substance to the allegations. The task of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is now to sift through the haystack, and take out the needle – and fast.
With over 49 polling stations reporting over 100 percent turnout – six of these in Khyber Pakthunkhwa, 32 in Punjab, 10 in Sindh and one in Balochistan – there is certainly a case to be made that something was amiss. The ECP has ordered a recount for eight NA seats while polls have still to go ahead on three seats. Even the PTI chairman Imran Khan, speaking from his hospital bed, has asked for a recount at 25 constituencies, threatening that the PTI will take out a sit in outside the offices of the ECP, if the matter was not addressed within three days. The JUI-F, forced into taking the opposition chambers in the KP, however, is pointing its fingers at the PTI, whom it claims “was never a contender”. In NA-250, where the MQM was protesting against the calling off of the polls, the PTI and JI against MQM orchestrated rigging, the matter appears to be going towards a re-poll. But with the Sindh government postponing the May 19 re-poll, the matter is likely to continue on.
The suggestion of thumb impression verification is a positive one. It makes sense for the ECP to go ahead with it in constituencies where significant disputes are being reported. That a conflicting number of registered voters has emerged in NA-154 means that some of the fault must be shared by the ECP. With women in the Kurram Agency also taking to the streets against alleged rigging, protests could spread to other constituencies if measures to restore confidence are not taken quickly. With Chaudhry Nisar reportedly losing his provincial seat in Rawalpindi after recounting for the third time, the effectiveness of a recount appears to be getting more credence. With the protestors yet to dissipate from Teen Talwar and Lalik Chowk, the ECP needs to give itself aspirin for a headache it could have easily avoided.
