PPP, PML-N reject GB poll results as PTI emerges largest party

GILGIT/LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday alleged rigging in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) elections, whereas Information Minister Shibli Faraz said people threw in dustbin the opposition’s narrative and voted in favour of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

According to unofficial results, the PTI emerged as the leading party by securing nine out of 23 GB Legislative Assembly seats which were up for grabs. The PPP and the PML-N bagged three and two seats respectively. While seven seats were won by independent candidates.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced he would join the protest of GB people shortly, as “PPP elections have been stolen”. Bilawal was the first high profile leader who landed much before any other political head of other parties. The PPP chairman reached GB on October 21 and arranged a marathon of large public rallies and small scale corner meetings in a bid to mobilise the voters in strategically located mountainous region.

Reacting to the GB election results, Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said: “Despite using the entire state machinery, spending billions of rupees to buy votes, using religious card and committing the worst forms of fraud, still PTI is not in a position to form a government alone. This is the decision that the zealous people of GB gave in favour of Bilawal.” PPP’ Sehar Kamran tweeted: “Selected is rejected”. PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said the PTI won a few seats in Sunday’s GB polls through “rigging”, “bullying”, and with the help of turncoats.

Taking to Twitter, Maryam said: “PTI’s failing to cement a clear majority in the northern region is a shameful defeat for the incumbent government. This defeat is a telling sign of what the future has in store.”

Maryam said the ruling party was unable to secure a majority despite using state machinery and with the help of turncoats, adding the GB people had no confidence in the PTI.

Her sentiments were echoed by former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who said the federal government had “stripped GB of its powers”. Likening the GB polls to 2018 general elections, the PML-N leader said Sunday’s election was rigged.

On the other hand, Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz said people threw in dustbin the narrative of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and voted in favour of the PTI in GB election, awarding the party a majority.Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said people and candidates took part in GB election and the democratic process, as some candidates won and some lost.

“This time those people lost the election who were campaigning in GB for a month and were on the nerves of the people,” he added.The minister said opposition had claimed that the election will be a referendum but the people rejected it in the poll, adding the GB people voted with a democratic mindset and chose their progress, prosperity, development and bright future.The minister said the senior most leadership of the opposition campaigned for the election but they did not have moral reason to tell on which basis they wanted the people to vote them.

“Both parties (PPP, PML-N) in their 10-year tenures did nothing for the people in the sectors of education, health and industry and only paid lip service,” he said, adding the media fully covered the election campaign with their cameras and teams.

The minister said the opposition was talking about rigging before and after the election. “Opposition has been changing its narrative and now it is being said that the GB people always go with the federal government.”

Faraz stressed that the election was free, fair and transparent, adding the PTI could have won more seats if the opposition’s claims of rigging were accepted.“The PTI got the majority in the election,” he said, adding: “For the opposition only those elections are fair in which they win.”

Opposition did the same thing in 2018 and cried about rigging without giving any proofs, he said and added the leaders of opposition parties did not want to pursue allegations of rigging further, thus admitting that the GB election was fair.

To a question, the minister said the government will bring further changes in the election laws to introduce electronic voting and show of hands in the Senate election as a part of its efforts to make the process transparent.

Separately, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood in an earlier tweet had said: “Let me make a prediction. PPP and PML N will claim the GB election to be unfair in constituencies they lose and very fair where they win. Get ready for this charade folks.”