News Analysis |
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president has rejected the July 25 election results. While addressing a press conference in Lahore, Shehbaz expressed deepest reservations against the election exercise. PML-Chief rejected the preliminary election results and said, “I am forced to say that we completely reject these results.”
In a tweet after his press conference, he said, “Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) wholly rejects the results of General Elections 2018 due to manifest & massive irregularities. Form 45 was not given to our agents, results were stopped & votes were counted in the absence of our poll agents. This is both unbearable & unacceptable.”
In the run-up to the elections where the PML-N was expected to lose as per the surveys conducted across the country, it had managed to successfully create a narrative in Pakistan and around the world that these elections would be rigged.
Shehbaz showed some copies of what he said were Form-45 received from some of the polling stations from Lahore and Sialkot, he leveled the allegations that Form-45 was not shared with the agents of PML-N in many constituencies. It’s ironic how Shehbaz rejected the election result even before the official result complied. Was the party already intending to throw a tantrum? Marriyum Aurangeb, also, addressed a press conference yesterday as she shared her reservations about the vote count process.
MQM, PMLN and PPP, all have pitted these allegations and accused the ECP of not sharing the results with their polling agents. Amid the controversy over the Result Transmission System (RTS), Shehbaz Sharif has called a CEC session to collaborate with the party leaders for a new plan of action as soon as possible. “We are contacting other political parties having similar complaints. We will provide a proper plan of action after we consult with them,” he asserted.
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Senator Mushahid Ullah and Marrium Aurangzeb spoke of robbing the people’s mandate and showed the similar sentiments and reservations over the elections. Not only PML-N but MQM-P, PPP, and JUI-F have decried the delay in the election results and voiced their fear regarding polling day rigging. Bilawal Bhutto also tweeted midnight and claimed that he has not received the official results for his constituency.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president has rejected the July 25 election results. While addressing a press conference in Lahore, Shehbaz expressed deepest reservations against the election exercise.
All the major news channels and independent organizations had predicted the more or less similar outcome. PTI has exceeded the expectations in certain parts especially, in KP and Karachi. ECP spoke to media overnight twice. It played down the criticism and blamed the RTS for this bizarre delay which jeopardizes the overall apparently free and fair electoral exercise.
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All the media channels and observers agreed that the elections seem to be largely fair, but after the polling, RTS controversy has marred the whole process. Nevertheless, the media acknowledges Khan’s remarkable success, particularly in KP. ECP announced the first official result at 4 am after its constitutional deadline of 2 am was passed, much to the anger of all the stakeholders.
In the run-up to the elections where the PML-N was expected to lose as per the surveys conducted across the country, it had managed to successfully create a narrative in Pakistan and around the world that these elections would be rigged. All the major international publications reported against the expected rigging and RTS failure have exposed the next government to a major backlash. All the protesting parties are facing major corruption scandals in National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which may put them on the same page to disrupt Khan’s seemingly fair victory.