LAHORE: Amid drumbeats and mixed slogans, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq appeared before an election tribunal here on Saturday and recorded his statement regarding allegations of rigging in his NA-122 constituency levelled by a defeated candidate, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.

A good number of PML-N workers greeted Mr Sadiq at offices of the provincial election commission. A woman worker chanted “Go Nawaz, go”, but hastened to raise a couple of pro-PML and anti-PTI slogans to rectify her mistake.

When this slogan had become viral during the days of Mr Khan’s Islamabad sit-in, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PML-N leader Sabir Shah had raised it at a party meeting, later terming it a “slip of the tongue” and apologising.

Meanwhile, in his statement before the tribunal, Mr Sadiq said: “The entire election process and the election itself were held in accordance with law. No illegality or irregularity was committed by deponent or any other person, which would bring any act within the definition of corrupt or illegal practice. The deponent took all reasonable precautions to prevent the commission of any illegal or corrupt practice by any person. The contents and averments made in the written reply filed by the deponent in the subject election petition may be read as part of this affidavit as they are true and correct and the same narrate the actual facts.”

Talking to reporters, he said Mr Khan could not present any evidence of rigging in the constituency. “Imran Khan’s allegations are unfounded. I do not want to comment on the outcome of the case as it is a sub judice matter. Neither I nor Imran is a judge to give verdict. Let the tribunal decide the matter. The decision will come on the basis of evidence and not somebody’s desire,” he said in reply to a question.

Imran is still angry with me over an incident during a hockey match in 1964, says Ayaz Sadiq in a lighter vein

Mr Sadiq had defeated Mr Khan in the May 2013 general elections for the National Assembly seat from Lahore with a margin of 8,500 votes. Mr Khan had challenged the results and NA-122 is one of the four constituencies where the PTI has sought a complete audit of the votes.

Embittered over the PTI’s constant demand for his resignation, Mr Sadiq said: “I will remain speaker of the National Assembly till 2018. My media trial over the issue has been carried out for 128 days. I have filed my petition in the court of Almighty Allah and I will get justice from him in this world and hereafter.”

Following in the footsteps of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, the speaker called the PTI chairman “Imran Khan Niazi”.

Mr Sadiq recalled that “in 1964 two boys were playing hockey when one hit the other. Imran Khan Niazi is still angry with me over this. I want to tell him that I did not hit him with a hockey deliberately. He still has a grudge against me over this”.

After the PML-N claimed that Mr Sadiq’s votes had increased by 134 in recount, the PTI had insisted that polling fraud in NA-122 had been exposed and the speaker should be ready to resign.

According to Mr Khan, some 30,000 “bogus votes” had been found in the polling bags during the audit.

The tribunal adjourned the hearing till Feb 14.

Published in Dawn February 8th , 2015

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