ECP says criticism of election uncalled for

–Election body’s secretary says losing candidates should accept results or file complaints with ECP

–Says independent observers have also declared election ‘free and fair’

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob on Tuesday criticised political leaders for demanding resignation of the chief election commissioner (CEC) over alleged rigging in the general election.

The All Parties Conference had demanded the resignation of CEC Justice (r) Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, accusing him of engineering election results.

Yaqoob dismissed the allegations while addressing the media.

He said, “If any candidate has any complaint then they will be dealt with as per the law.”

He further said that the July 25 polls were free and fair as all necessary measures were taken to provide a level-playing field to all parties.

Yaqoob also said the ECP expects all candidates to respect the country’s vote and to accept the polls as they are.

“We expect all candidates whether they won or lost to respect people’s mandate and not only accept the results but strengthen the democratic process,” the ECP secretary said.

“One can ascertain that the 2018 General Election was transparent by noting that polls were concluded on time in most parts of the country,” he added.

The voter turnout for the 2018 polls stood at 52 per cent and that people freely exercised their right to elect their candidates.

In addition to that, Yaqoob said that “acting upon Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) petition, the electoral body requested the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to not arrest political leaders till after the polls were over.”

Moreover, ECP postponed the polls in NA-60, Rawalpindi constituency following PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi’s sentence. Abbasi was disqualified days before the general elections. While Awami Muslim League’s Sheikh Rasheed submitted petitions to hold the election as per schedule, the commission and judges decided to postpone polls in the constituency.

“This was done to ensure that all parties have a level playing field,” Yaqoob said.

Claiming that Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) and EU missions declared the polls were free and fair, the ECP secretary said, “This is an honour for the country’s democratic process.”

Yaqoob also noted, “For the first time in the country’s history, a survey was conducted in 85,000 polling stations and provincial governments were asked to facilitate people.”

He lauded the participation of women in the polls and said, “This was the first election in which a large number of women participated.”

Yaqoob further said that “30,000 observers were present and stated in their initial reports that the process was free, fair and transparent”.

The judiciary provided returning officers in 849 constituencies with the exception of one or two, and all 70 complaints received were dealt with accordingly, he added. “The commission has also summoned replies from officials to state the reason for the delay in results.”