The decision to deploy Pakistan Army personnel inside the polling stations during the maiden provincial elections in the merged tribal districts was condemned by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who said the Election Commission of Pakistan shouldn’t make elections controversial by involving the army.
Speaking to reporters outside the National Assembly, the PPP chief said the deployment of troops inside the polling booths will give a negative impression.
In a reference to the stationing of the soldiers in polling stations and subsequent rigging allegations, the Bilawal said the mistakes that were made in the 2018 general elections should not be repeated in the by-polls.
“Don’t make the institutions controversial,” he warned. There should be no rigging in the elections in tribal districts, he warned.
The PPP chairperson said that his party would not make any compromises on people’s democratic rights.
The elections on 16 provincial assembly seats in tribal districts will be held on July 20.