Siraj demands judicial commission, CEC resignation

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq on Wednesday demanded of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to constitute an independent inquiry commission to investigate rigging in general elections depriving actually successful candidates of their mandate on February 08.

Addressing a press conference here, the JI top leader also asked the chief election commissioner (CEC) to resign for his failure to come up to expectations of the nation to conduct fair, free and independent elections.

“We demand immediate resignation of the CEC as in his presence, no independent and impartial investigations into allegations of rigging are possible,” he said

“The Chief Election Commissioner should pick up moral courage, apologize to the nation for not conducting fair polls and step down from his position,” Sirajul Haq said.

He said that Justice was not done by the institutions on the election day and after it, adding they would be responsible for instability in the country due to hung parliament. He said that the key institutions - including the establishment, judiciary and election commission - failed to remain apolitical and meet the nation’s expectations.

He expressed disappointment in the civil bureaucracy funded by the taxes of Pakistan’s poor for not respecting the public mandate.

He pointed out that ‘RTS’ broke down in 2018 elections while ‘EMS’ system did not work in 2024. “As consequences, the February 08 polls were changed and manipulated on Forms 47 while Forms 45 were just formality,” said the JI chief, adding the company created in this way would not be able to continue the government for long. He said that Jamaat-e-Islami was also deprived of six certain National Assembly seats in Karachi. “It has been our desire that ECP and establishment should remain impartial and apolitical and they are not acting the same way,” he said.

He resolved to raise voice in the face of blatant rigging, expressing regret that the initial hope for stability post-elections had been shattered due to widespread result manipulation. Sirajul Haq observed the elections generally bring stability in most countries; however, Pakistan’s experience has been marked by planned rigging arrangements in each of the 12 national polls, eroding public faith in democracy and inviting prolonged martial laws. The JI top leader maintained that the party would not withdraw from his demand of getting back its stolen mandate. “We will continue our struggle till getting back our mandate from every constituency from where it was stolen,” he said. He regretted that after bulldozing results of elections, efforts were on to impose once again two political families on the nation who were facing corruption charges. The exercise of general elections, on which Rs50 billion were spent, was just a joke, and it shattered nation’s believe in democracy.