Controversy regarding NA-122

Who really won there?

The controversy over rigging continues to rage unabated in the backdrop of the one-man commission report on NA-122 submitted to the Election Tribunal hearing Imran Khan’s petition regarding rigging in the constituency, with both the PTI and government claiming to have been vindicated on the issue. My considered opinion is that this controversy is unnecessary and unwarranted in view of the fact that the Election Tribunal has yet to deliver its verdict on the petition. The matter is in fact sub judice. The judge of the Election Tribunal, Justice Kazim, has rightly remarked that PTI and PML-N were conducting media trial of the vote audit of NA-122.

The controversy as usual was started by Imran Khan with a view to pressurise and influence the Election Tribunal like he has been doing in other cases such as the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner by making unsavoury remarks about the potential candidate who then refused to accept the position. The PML-N mostly has been defending itself against the unsubstantiated allegations and the flak directed against it. In this particular case also the information minister restricted himself only to countering the assumptions made by Imran about the report and his jumping to the conclusion.

Before venturing to put the things in proper perspective, it would perhaps be pertinent to mention the findings of the commission that are being construed by both sides as vindication of their positions, for the benefit of the readers. The report states that at least 1,80,115 votes have been declared valid out of which National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq secured 92,393 votes as against 83,542 votes polled by Imran Khan. A total of at least 4,180 votes were cast in favour of other candidates. According to the report 3,642 votes could not be verified and as many as 23,525 counterfoils were without signatures and stamps. Similarly 2,693 counterfoils did not have signatures of the staff on them and 750 votes did not have the stamps of the presiding officers. Further, 806 votes did not match the serial numbers of the counterfoils in the Form 14. Moreover, at least 1,395 votes did not have the signatures of the staff members. The report also made mention of broken seals of some polling bags and some bags improperly sealed.

Imran Khan referring to these observations of the commission on the audit and recount of the votes in a press conference, dubbed all these votes as ‘bogus’ and claimed that his allegations of rigging stood proven. The foregoing observations of the commission actually pertain to irregularities and mistakes committed by the electoral staff and presiding officers which are attributable to their lack of training, ignorance of the electoral procedures and their casual attitude. The commission has not used the word ‘bogus’ for these votes and Imran Khan seems to have made a conscious effort to misconstrue the findings and creating confusion about them.

A bogus vote is a vote cast on behalf of a genuine voter by another person fraudulently. What Imran is trying to suggest is that 34,376 votes were cast by the persons other than the real voters. This was impossible in view of the fact that for the first time in the history of Pakistan the Election Commission of Pakistan had introduced electoral rolls with the photographs of the voters. These lists were available at all the polling stations of each constituency and it was very easy for the polling agents of the candidates to verify the genuineness of the voter. Ostensibly Imran is trying to portray the electoral irregularities as rigging. He is better advised to refrain from such pressure tactics and wait for the verdict of the Election Tribunal. The government functionaries must also observe restraint in regards to sub judice matters.

Imran has also threatened to relaunch street agitation after 18th January if the government did not set up the judicial commission by then. The deadlock on this issue is actually on the terms of reference for the proposed judicial commission. The government had accepted most of the demands of the PTI, including the setting up of the commission. Imran khan has been crying from every convenient rooftop to rub in the conspiracy theory in which allegedly the former CJ, former COAS, MI, ECP, ROs, caretaker governments and GEO TV were involved in stealing the election from him.

The interesting aspect of the disagreement on TORs, according to sources privy to the dialogue process, is that while the government wants to include the foregoing allegations in the terms of reference, the PTI is backtracking on its publicly made allegations and insisting on an independent investigation about rigging or manipulation in 2013 elections, including pre-poll rigging, rigging on the poll day and post-poll rigging. Political analyst believe and rightly so that the PTI has taken this somersault on the advice of its legal advisors and may be also in view of the rejection of Imran Khan’s petition by SC in regards to declaring the elections null and void.

The PTI surely needs to revisit its stance and attitude of self-righteousness. The issues confronting the nation and the demands made by PTI can better be addressed in the Parliament and through dialogue in the spirit of give and take. Politics of agitation is always disruptive and harmful for the country. The country cannot afford political instability at a time when it needs an impregnable unity among all the stakeholders, including the political parties to take the war against terrorism to its logical end.

The relaunching of the agitation and making the government dysfunctional as threatened by Imran Khan, would severely undermine the national unity and national consensus against terrorism. It would neither accrue any political benefit to PTI nor serve any national cause. Pakistan comes first and has to be defended against the dangers lurking on the horizon. Narrow political considerations and politics of self-aggrandisement must wait for better times.