Losing candidates block highway to protest alleged rigging

Ashrafuddin PirzadaBy

LANDIKOTAL: Political parties and independent candidates for Landikotal Tehsil chairmanship slot on Monday staged a protest at the Charwazgay Chowk in Landikotal and blocked the Pak-Afghan Highway to protest the alleged rigging in the local government election.

Thousands of supporters of political parties and independent candidates turned to the main road at Charwazgay where they chanted slogans against Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP), assistant commissioner of Landikotal and police.

They blocked the road for an hour. Long queues of heavy trucks, taxi cabs and passenger coaches were stranded on both sides of the road. Speaking on the occasion, Awami National Party district Khyber president, Shah Hussain Shinwari, put uner question the fairness of the polling process.

He said they do not accept the election held in Landikotal on December 19 as it was rigged. He demanded the election commission of Pakistan to stop the Landikotal local government election results.

Shah Hussain alleged they had videos and pictures that would prove that LG polls in Landikotal were rigged. He showed a number of ballot papers of the tehsil chairmanship to the media and asked the authorities that how could it be brought out of the polling stations.

The ANP leader said if official results of the Landikotal local government elections were announced, they would be compelled to take any step for own rights. Shahid Shinwari alleged that assistant commissioner of Landikotal was involved in the pre-polling rigging. He said that assistant commissioner and election commission staff with the help of local police had stuffed the ballot boxes with stamped votes in the favour of one candidate who allegedly used the money to win the tehsil chairman election.

He said at most women polling stations, the staff was either bribed or forced at gunpoint to cast illegal votes.The speaker said the local government elections were held for the first time in the merged districts but ECP failed to conduct them in fair manners.

Twenty tehsil chairmanship candidates including the Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate Adanan Shinwari , Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muqtadar Shah Afridi, independent candidate Sayed AlamKhan Shalmani, Qaumi Watan Party leader Daulat Shah Afridi, Shakirullah Afridi and Kaleem Khan Shinwari rejected the election results and demanded re-polling.

They announced that an application would be submitted at the Landikotal election commission office today (Tuesday) asking the government to declare the election in Landikotal tehsil null and void and announce re-election.

It may be mentioned here that elections were stopped in the Landikotal far-flung Bazar Zakhakhel area after supporters of two contesting candidates exchanged gunfire and used rocket launchers during the elections hours.

The authorities asked residents to remain at home and the situation was brought under control later. It was also confirmed that one of the rocket shells also hit the school’s compound where the election was underway. However, no casualty was reported.