PPP rejects EC's probe into by-poll 'irregularities'
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 16: The opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly and provincial chief of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Nisar Ahmad Khuro, on Sunday, expressing his dissatisfaction over the Election Commission's probe into the alleged by-poll irregularities
, demanded a judicial commission, headed by a Supreme Court judge, to reinvestigate the matter.
"The Election Commission is itself a party, because it did not take notice of our numerous complaints about pre-poll irregularities and about stuffing of the ballot boxes on the election day. So how it can qualify to conduct the inquiry," Mr Khuhro said, while speaking at a news conference.
Mr Khuhro said that after the election results for the city were stayed, it had been acknowledged, prima facie, that the by-polls, which witnessed an 'unprecedented' violence, were engineered by the major partner in the ruling coalition in the province, demanding that the polls be declared null and void, and be held again.
He said that his party had informed the Election Commission, even before the elections, that the commission's orders about transfers and postings of the government officials were being flouted after the announcement of the election schedule, but the EC took no notice of the PPP's protest, which, he claimed, facilitated the ruling party in "manipulating" the election results.
Mr Khuhro said that the EC also took no notice of the PPP complaints about the harassing of polling agents and voters by the ruling party, besides attacking the PPP candidate in PS-127, Omar Jutt.
He said the law-enforcing agencies did not act swiftly to catch the culprits involved in the attempt on the life of Omar Jutt. He added that no monitoring team of the commission visited certain areas, leaving the field open for the ruling party.
He claimed that the PPP candidate for PS-127 was winning by more than 26,000 votes, but the results were manipulated to "grab" the constituency, from where the PPP had never lost elections.
He alleged that the EC also ignored violations of its rules by the ministers and advisers, who, he claimed, were actively involved in the alleged rigging. He said the ruling party was not at all ashamed of the poll-related violence and was trying to stick to the power by all means.
He said the rulers had set a very bad precedence by manipulating the by-polls and warned that suppressing of the people's voice would produce grave consequences.
Referring to the parliamentary committee on water issue, which is headed by Senator Nisar Memon, he maintained that the National Assembly speaker had no authority to constitute a joint committee, adding that it was a violation of the articles, 154 and 155 of the Constitution.
