ISLAMABAD: Outrightly rejecting allegations of rigging in the elections of 2013, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday said the polls were transparent and fair.

Briefing the media after a meeting, Additional Director General ECP Masood Malik said no rigging took place in the elections of 2013 and the international observers termed the polls free, fair and transparent.

The official said only identity cards were mandatory for casting of votes.

The Election Commission official said sixty per cent of the population in Pakistan was attached to farming and many of them lose thumb impression while working in the fields.

“Putting thumb impression on a ballot is a skill and many of the thumbs could not be verified because of doing it wrongly,” said Malik. Finger prints were not necessary for verification of votes, he added.

The ECP official said use of magnetic ink and putting photos on the voter lists was an administrative step in the last elections, adding that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has not completed work on biometric system.

He said additional administrative steps for elections were taken on the directions of the Supreme Court. “Issuance of forms 16 and 17 by the Commission on the website was not a legal requirement,” he said, adding that forms 14, 15, 16 and 17 were computerised.

It was a suggestion of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to use magnetic ink and the same was prepared according to the samples approved by Nadra. The Election Commission was aware of its use, he added.

PCSIR sent four samples of magnetic ink to Nadra which approved the B sample of the ink, Malik said.

“Magnetic ink was used at all polling stations so Nadra could not say that it was not used.”

Masood Malik said services of 34 private people were hired from Lahore for numbering of ballot papers as they were expert in this work.

He said those levelling allegations of rigging should prove it with evidence at an appropriate forum.

The additional DG ECP said result management system was computerised and ballot papers were only printed by Printing Corporation of Pakistan. He said only 76 elections petitions out of 405 were pending in the tribunals.