KARACHI: The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) has alleged that a well-planned rigging will take place in the general election this year and they have written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), vowing to go to court if the commission fails to fulfil its responsibility.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi Press Club (KPC) here on Friday, GDA Information Secretary Sardar Raheem who was accompanied by Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) Information secretary Kareem Shaikh said that these elections are very important in the history of Pakistan.
“If the election commission fails to conduct free and fair elections, we will go to court,’’ Sardar said.
He said that certain people had expressed fear that the elections might not be held when the election date was announced. However, GDA had started its preparations and has public support in Sindh as of now. He also said that the GDA’s popularity is rising in Sindh and there is a common perception that it will form the next government in the province.
Sardar Raheem alleged that the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) during its 10-years of tenure in Sindh has shown zero performance which is why voters of the province are fed up with it and want an alternate in the shape of GDA to rid their province of corrupt politicians.
“We were promised that polls will be impartial and complaint cells would be formed to resolve the complaints of voters, but the way in which ballot papers have been provided in Sanghar, there is no hope of transparent elections,” Sardar said adding that if impartial polls were not conducted, the people of Sindh will not accept them.
Furthermore, Sardar informed that the GDA had written the letter to ECP on June 25 and their response came on July 15. “How they will take action on complaints in 10 days with this type of lethargy?” he emphasised.
“In these circumstances, there is no hope of free and fair elections. The responsibility of conducting polls was given to officers who are appointed on the basis of political nepotism, a majority of them are from the education department. Everyone knows about fake and political appointments in education and other departments in Sindh,” he lamented.