The ruling of an election tribunal regarding the need to hold a re-election in NA-125 and PP-155 has proved a setback to the Pakistan-Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and given a boost to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). PTI stalwarts are going wild celebrating the verdict that came after almost two years. The verdict is welcome since after all justice has been served. As per the ruling, PML-N’s candidates Khawaja Saad Rafique and Mian Naseer Ahmad have been unseated after irregularities were proved on both seats during the 2013 general elections. While responding to the verdict, Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that the decision is actually against the incompetence of returning officers and presiding officers. He has not ruled out challenging the verdict in the Supreme Court. The question arises on what grounds he will file an appeal for a reversal of the election tribunal’s decision. There is no doubt that flawed elections were held in NA-125 and the tribunal has made an appropriate decision regarding the holding of re-elections. It has been revealed that the elections results in NA-125 were compiled on the basis of unverified information. The judge specifically said that presiding officers and election staff in the constituency were inefficient, they did not work properly and discrepancies and irregularities emerged in polling stations due to their negligence. Major irregularities that were found include the opening of ballot boxes with a sharp object, tampering with the record and absence of thumb impressions as well as signatures of Returning Officers (ROs) on vote count proformas. In the given situation, the real culprits are the ROs and election staff, who must be held accountable for damaging the democratic process. The election tribunal has said that discrepancies and irregularities were found but no convincing evidence was available to prove any deliberate systematic rigging plan. The tribunal judge told the media that the allegations of rigging levelled by the challenger have not been established. Of the analysis of 15 polling stations ordered by the tribunal judge, irregularities were found in the record of seven stations. If rigging had been proved, Saad Rafique would have been disqualified from contesting elections.
So far, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has made generalised allegations and no evidence has been submitted that could substantiate his claims. Unfortunately, the basis of the PTI’s sit-ins and street protests was based on mere assumptions. He is continuing to make wild accusations while asking others to prove his claims of systematic rigging. Soon after the verdict, the PTI leadership started boasting of its claims about confirmation of rigging in NA-125 that actually have not been proved. The PTI leadership is overjoyed that the election in one of the four constituencies where it claimed massive rigging was done has been declared null and void. On its part, the PML-N has expressed its willingness to contest elections on this seat again. The party is hopeful of winning the elections again due to the PML-N’s victory in the recently concluded Cantonment Board elections in Lahore. The election tribunal verdict does not validate PTI’s allegations that the 2013 elections were manipulated or rigged pursuant to a systematic effort or design. Imran needs to understand this simple logic that the politics of agitation on such flimsy grounds is not in anyone’s interest. As the tribunal verdict has shown, if he has any grievance, he should approach the proper forum. But the use of gutter language and character assassination that has been the leitmotif of the ‘container’ sit-in should be avoided. Politics must be pursued in a civilised manner. He should come out of his world of assumptions. On the other hand it remains the responsibility of the election tribunals to decide all cases before them at the earliest so that all election-related controversies are finally laid to rest.
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