ISLAMABAD: Like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) local bodies (LB) elections and all the previous by-elections on National Assembly and provincial assembly seats, the results of the first phase of LB polls in Punjab and Sindh have vindicated the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against different allegations hurled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding rigging in 2013 general elections. The PTI not only lost first phase of these LB polls by securing very few seats only from the areas from where its candidates have secured considerable number of votes during May 11, 2013, polls. Out of the total 2,696 LB seats in Punjab, the PTI could win a little more than 250 seats. Likewise, the PPP and PML-Q performed abysmally in Punjab just like they did in 2013 elections. During October 11 NA-122 by-elections, the PTI lost to PML-N. NA-122 was one of the four constituencies about which PTI chief Imran Khan used to claim that his party was defeated through well-planned rigging carried out by different players, with the ECP playing the major role. The highest judicial commission, comprising top Supreme Court judges all of whom were entrusted by the PTI, has already rejected all allegations against the ECP, and now the voters from different areas didn’t seem to change their decision which they had given on May 11, 2013, general polls. The PTI started levelling allegations of rigging few weeks after the 2013 general elections and alleged that the Pakistan Army through the then army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the then chief election commissioner Justice Fakharuddin G Ebrahim, all members of ECP and the Commission as a whole, former Supreme Court judge Justice Ramday, biggest media group of Pakistan Geo and Jang Group and almost everyone under the sun connived to defeat the PTI in 2013 general elections and stopped it from making the government in Islamabad. However, PTI leadership and its chief Imran Khan not only failed to present any evidence of rigging committed by above-mentioned individuals and institutions but he even failed to exactly explain as to how rigging was carried out or what mechanism was adopted to rig the elections to defeat his party. However, available evidence and record speak otherwise and establish some undeniable facts. For making government in the Centre a political party needs at least 50 percent seats in the National Assembly whereas according to the official record, the PTI was non-existent in more than 50 percent NA constituencies during 2013 general elections. In more than 50% constituencies the PTI either failed to even place a candidate or security deposits of its candidates were confiscated. There were 40 NA constituencies where the PTI had failed to even place a candidate. In more than 90 constituencies, security deposits of contesting PTI candidates were confiscated. In dozens of such constituencies, the PTI even failed to secure one percent of total polled votes. However, under a well-devised political strategy, the PTI continued to hurl allegations of rigging against its opponents and critics to give an impression that it is a national-level party. This, however, worked according to some experts and the PTI succeeded to the extent to creating an impression of being a big party. Analysts say, however, the by-elections and LB polls results show that this impression was fake and will disperse soon if the party will not bring about basic changes in lives of common KP people, if it will not stop dancing to tunes of others, if it failed to start serious and mature politics and to show performance as a constructive, rational and vibrant opposition party. All the allegations levelled by the PTI were thoroughly probed by the judicial commission. Judicial commission pointed out some deficiencies in the election process but discussed each and every such deficiency separately and held in categorical words that none of these deficiencies or lacuna could change result of any constituency and could never be considered as rigging. The judicial commission did recommend correcting these wrongs. Almost all the election petitions filed by the PTI alleging rigging were dismissed by the relevant election tribunals except three. Even these three decisions were given on basis of wrongly noted down CNIC numbers by elections staff and unmatched thumb impressions. Senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja has recently stated that even if the latest elections will be analysed in this way, there would be many wrongly handwritten CNIC numbers as well as many thumb impressions would not match as same is technically impossible and this never means rigging. The ECP has been vindicated on all forums, by top most judicial forums as well as by the voters of Pakistan. It is, however, a question mark that whether the PTI and its chief Imran Khan will apologise to nation and ECP for his so many allegations which all proved wrong.
