RAWALPINDI, Aug 28: Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) has accused the government of rigging the local bodies elections and said it would move court against the fraud.

“The government has made new records of rigging in the local bodies elections. A five-member lawyers committee has been formed to take the matter to the court,” said Siddiqul Farooque, the central secretary information of the party, at a press conference at Rawalpindi Press Club here on Sunday.

Mr Farooque alleged that the rigging was resorted to under the patronage of a local MPA and a federal minister. He said a woman worker of PML (N) was disrobed and beaten by a government- backed candidate Nadeem Khan Jadoon.

About the election commission, he said it was powerless. The Election Commission staff is scared. Having failed to hold transparent and fair polls, the acting chief election commissioner should resign, he demanded.

Giving details about the use of unfair means in the elections, Mr Farooque said a large number of candidates were caught while casting bogus votes in union councils 10, 14 and 22 but police did not register cases against them.

Answering a question, he said the acting chief election commissioner had been informed of the rigging and fraudulent ways. He said policemen were seen casting votes in UC-14. He further said that the opposition candidates and their supporters were not allowed to enter the polling stations. The results of UCs-14 and 22 have been withheld, he added.

The PML leader said the chief election commissioner had admitted that the process of issuing ballot papers and casting of votes was very complicated and the common man could not grasp it.

He said similar fraudulent ways were used in other cities. In Abbottabad, he said, 230 fake and signed ballot papers were recovered from a polling station.

Similarly, the ruling party candidates from Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan and NWFP were given 500 to 700 ballot papers and asked to stamp on their election symbols and put them in the ballot box, he revealed.

He said the government did not take lessons from the first phase of the local government elections in which many precious lives were lost.

Mr Siddiq was, however, optimistic. He said the results of the local government elections had proved that the opposition had its vote bank intact. Despite its illegal and fraudulent tactics, the government failed to dent the opposition votebank, he noted.

Others present on the occasion included Raheela Saleem Advocate, Anwar Abbasi and Abdul Khaliq Bhatti Advocate.