ISLAMABAD, Aug 19: Opposition leader in the Senate and deputy secretary general of the People’s Party Parliamentarians Raza Rabbani has challenged the acting chief election commissioner’s claim that the voters’ turnout in the first phase of the local body election was over 50 per cent.

Talking to reporters in his Parliament House chamber on Friday, the opposition leader said the PPP could not accept the “exaggerated figure”.

He claimed that the turnout was not more than 25 per cent.

Mr Rabbani also termed the CEC’s claim that the elections were held in a free and transparent manner as “ridiculous”. He said the CEC had stated that the Election Commission had received very few complaints regarding rigging on the polling day whereas the PPP itself had submitted over 150 complaints to the provincial election commissioner of Sindh. However, he said, no action was taken by the EC officials on any of the complaints.

The PPP leader said despite the fact that the Supreme Court had disqualified the candidates holding madressah sanads, the CEC stated on Aug 17 that the EC had not decided to keep sanad-holders out of the race at such a short notice, especially when it had not yet received the court judgment. The CEC had also stated that disqualification proceedings would be conducted by the election tribunals if their opponents challenged them in the event of their victory.

“What will be the effect on the elections if an already disqualified candidate is allowed to contest the elections?” he asked. Mr Rabbani said: “Will it not amount to a fraud on the electorate, if a candidate is elected, challenged and then unseated on a patent disqualification that existed within the knowledge of the EC when the candidate contested the election?”