KARACHI: Claiming that the recent elections were ‘micro-managed’, the Sindh United Party (SUP) on Wednesday demanded that the election results be nullified and the people of Sindh be given another chance to vote for their real representatives who had been “shown defeated” in the polls.

“The recent elections were micro-managed in a manner that its direct advantage is given to Imran Khan in the Centre and Pakistan Peoples Party in Sindh,” said Jalal Mehmood Shah, chief of the SUP while speaking at a press conference held at the party headquarters in Hyder Manzil.

The press conference was conducted after a meeting of the party’s central executive committee which was attended by Zain Shah, Khalil Jan Sirhandi, Roshan Buriro, Idrees Chandio, Ghulam Shah, Maula Bux Leghari, Jagdish Ahuja and other leaders.

Jalal Shah said the meeting participants reviewed the general elections threadbare and concluded that their results were micro-managed, which benefited the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the PPP to rule Islamabad and Sindh, respectively.

He claimed that because of flawed performance, the public opinion was tangibly against the PPP in Sindh where “80 per cent of its people openly defied the PPP.

“Our mandate has been stolen through bribe, pressure tactics and threat to voters, which is why we reject the election results in Sindh,” said Mr Shah.

He demanded re-election in Sindh and blamed the top officials who oversaw and conducted elections for making matters worse.

“If such situation persists, no election in the future could be held transparently and people will totally lose their trust in the democratic process.

“Such a situation could create anarchy of dangerous proportions in the country and bring various institutions at loggerheads.”

He said before the polling day, certain government employees were caught and handed to the police for “rigging postal ballots” and claimed a senior election official was behind it.

“This matter was conveyed to the Election Commission of Pakistan, but, things that followed were even [more] disappointing when instead of taking action against those involved in the illegal act, they were protected.”

He said his party believed that its candidates were victims of “worst rigging” before and after polling.

He claimed that state institutions, administration, ECP and caretaker government were “totally involved in pre-poll and post-poll rigging”.

The SUP leader said his party would take all available legal means to challenge the rigging in elections.

Besides, he added, his party would approach the people of Sindh and protest against the election results.

He said they demanded good governance and action against corrupt practices.

He also supported the protest call given by the leadership of the Grand Democratic Alliance.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2018