Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman on Wednesday said that returning officers (ROs), who appeared before General Election Inquiry Commission (GEIC) to record their testimonies, categorically rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief’s allegation that they were a part of the alleged widespread systematic rigging in 2013 General Election.
The GEIC summoned ROs of 11 National Assembly constituencies on PTI’s request and all five ROs informed the commission that they submitted their requirements for ballot papers keeping in view the number of registered voters in their respective constituencies, the state minister said while talking to reporters outside the Supreme Court.
Rehman said that the ROs also rejected another claim of PTI chief that extra ballot papers were printed for rigging purposes by saying that they demanded ballot papers keeping in view the number of polling stations, polling booths and polling schemes and to roundup ballot papers. She added that ROs submitted all extra papers to the treasury through district returning officers (DROs).
The minister said that PTI chief was “unable to understand the election process and mechanism”. She said that if Khan was right, he should appear before the enquiry commission as witness and repeat all allegations which he repeatedly stated during sit-ins.