Pakistan’s Election Commission forms committee to investigate poll rigging allegations
A bureaucrat has alleged that the country’s chief election commissioner and chief justice were involved in manipulating the national election.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has formed a high-level committee to investigate allegations of poll rigging in the country’s recent national election, PTI reported on Sunday.
The committee will submit its report to the poll regulator within three days.
On Saturday, a bureaucrat had alleged that the country’s chief election commissioner and the chief justice were involved in rigging the election to the National Assembly.
The bureaucrat, Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha, said that “stabbing the country in its back” would not let him sleep. “I should be punished for the injustice I have done and others who were involved in this injustice should also be punished,” Chattha said, claiming that losing candidates “were made to win” the election. He has resigned from the post.
The country’s Election Commission has rejected Chattha’s allegations, which came against the backdrop of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf calling for nationwide protests against the alleged poll rigging.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s lawyer Hamid Khan had called for a nationwide judicial inquiry Chattha’s allegations.
In the general election held on February 8, independent candidates backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won 93 seats. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party won 75 seats and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led Pakistan People’s Party secured 54 seats.
Pakistan’s National Assembly has 336 seats, of which 266 are decided by direct voting and 70 are reserved. To form the government, a party or a coalition needs to win at least 134 seats through the ballot.
On Tuesday, the Pakistan People’s Party backed Shehbaz Sharif, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, for the post of prime minister, Dawn reported.
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