By-elections is ‘big message for PTI as supporters did not come out’: Rana Sanaullah

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that the voter turnout of by-elections is a “big message” for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

“PTI voters did not come out [during by-elections],” Sanaullah claimed while talking to Geo News programme Naya Pakistan, adding that his party was satisfied with the poll results and had always accepted the election outcomes.

Calling upon political parties to use relevant forums for addressing the election-related complaints, he was of the view that the Nawaz Sharif-led party used to raise objections to the election results “within the system” but the PTI founder Imran Khan always tried to “bulldoze” the existing mechanism.

Commenting on electoral event, the PML-N stalwart said voter turnout is usually low in by-polls and only loyal supporters head towards the polling stations for their parties.

Sanaullah said the complaints would be lodged if any wrong doing was committed on the polling day.

The former interior minister, who faced defeat by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf backed independent Dr Nisar Jutt on February 08 in Faisalabad’s NA-100, urged PTI central leader Ali Muhammad Khan that he should sit with the PML-N to identify and address flaws via reforms in the electoral system instead of “bulldozing” the system.

He added that his party has always worked for the betterment of the country and invited political stakeholders to resolve issues via dialogues.

Regarding Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Sanaullah said that they would hold talks with the religio-political party’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to address his grievances.

PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan, in the same programme, said that his party had a massive public support and it did not need to rig the polls.

He alleged the same rigging tactics have been repeated in the by-elections that were used during the February 08 general polls. He claimed that polling staffers were coerced in by-polls.

The PTI leader further said that the Punjab voters voted for his party, but “someone else is making election results”.

However, he termed the election results of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where the Imran-founded party formed its government, legitimate and asked political parties to lodge legal complaints if they found any irregularity in the previous polls.

During by-polls on 21 National and provincial assembly seats, the polling process was marred by violent clashes between workers of different political parties in Punjab amid suspended cellular and internet services to maintain law and order.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ordered action after taking notice of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) worker’s killing in a violent clash during the by-elections in Narowal and complaints regarding alleged abduction of polling staff.