LAHORE: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Thursday urged the country’s political leadership to forge alliance in order to strengthen democracy and civilian supremacy.
The JAC said that in the interests of political stability, it supported the mandate of the citizens of Pakistan given in the general elections 2024 and expressed serious concerns over the operational and procedural discrepancies and difficulties that occurred before, during and after the polling process.
“JAC takes note of the gross irregularities in the pre-poll, during polling and counting processes. These include disruption of internet facilities during vote counting as this seriously hampered the efforts of election staff and monitors to discharge their duties, and candidates to exercise their democratic right to question vote count discrepancies,” it said.
The JAC further said, “This action casts serious doubt on the transparency of the elections process. These discrepancies must be investigated without prejudice and outcomes made public to win back public confidence in the electoral process.
The anomalies in the election process have been highlighted time and again and the ECP’s failure to address them further undermines confidence in election procedures.”
The JAC demanded the ECP listen to and address the genuine concerns of the candidates and political parties and address them without delay to establish the transparency of the electoral system.
It also took serious note of the indisputable evidence of state interference in the form of pre-poll harassment, where bona fide court cases had been transformed into mechanisms of persecution.
“It is time that the state recognised constitutional right of democratically elected parties to form governments and of civilian forces to shape democratic institutions.
It is incumbent on political parties and leadership to ensure that such interference is not allowed to derail the democratic process yet again, and to ensure that respect is accorded to the people’s mandate,” the JAC said.
“We demand that each state institution stay within its constitutional mandate and urge that an inclusive, people-driven and consensus-based path be forged that is responsive to the unique political, economic and social crises that Pakistan faces,” it added.
