A Pakistani politician steps down, claiming the poll was rigged in his favor. “Let the winner win.”
NEW DELHI: Citing claims of vote-rigging in his favor, Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party member Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman willingly gave up the seat he had won in the most recent provincial elections conducted in Karachi.
On February 8, claims of election tampering were made with the intention of undermining independent candidates backed by the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. Notwithstanding these assertions, Pakistan’s election commission and caretaker government have categorically denied the accusations, claiming that the nation has mechanisms and legislation in place to deal with particular grievances.
After receiving more than 26,000 votes, Rehman was formally proclaimed the victor of Karachi’s provincial seat 129. Rehman said, nevertheless, that disparities surfaced when the votes cast for Saif Bari—an independent backed by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party—were purportedly lowered from 31,000 to 11,000 during the tallying of ballots from specific polling places.
Election participation for Imran Khan’s PTI has been prohibited as a result of his rift with the powerful military. Imran Khan is now serving a prison sentence for corruption and other offenses. PTI members were thus forced to run as independents. On the other hand, the military disputes any meddling in the political system.
Rehman said, “Public opinion should be respected, let the winner win, let the loser lose, no one should get anything extra.” In an interview, he said that he would not accept the win under dubious circumstances and that a fair and honest democratic process was necessary.
