- Questioning the credibility of the polls
Former PML-N federal minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has leveled serious charges of violation of election rules at a number of polling stations. She claimed at an emergency press conference that Form 45 was withheld from the polling agents of the PML-N candidates at these polling stations which is a violation of election rules. . Further that the PPP candidates’ polling agents were not allowed to enter some of the polling stations. Also that that doors of the polling stations were closed indicating that some mysterious activity was going on inside. Similar complaints were made a little later by former federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal. The PMLN made it known that the development had made the polling exercise questionable
What makes the allegations all the more serious is that these were not confined to the PML-N. In Sind the PPP, MQM-P and PSP have also claimed that their polling agents were not allowed inside some polling stations and were not provided Form 45. According to the PPP, Bilwal Bhutto’s polling agents are untraceable.
The Punjab Election Commissioner and a number of local ECP officials have s meanwhile rejected the allegations that PML-N agents were thrown out of polling stations. The ECP says that, according to election rules, only one candidate or polling agent from each party is allowed to be present at the counting of th ballot papers. Nothing was said about the charge regarding withholding of Form 45
Hours before official declaration of results by the ECP, PTI central spokesman Fawad Chaudhry announced his party’s victory on the media, congratulating Imran Khan for becoming the PM. A similar announce,et by Nawaz Sharif after 2013 polls was produced by Imran Khan as a proof of rigging
There is a need on the part of ECP to take a serious note of the complaints. Many will need to know why a number of parties, mostly at daggers drawn over political issues, have come out with identical accusations . In case individual polling officials indulged in violating the election regulations, the best way would have been to take action against them. Unfortunately till late night there was no promise of an enquiry from the ECP.
