KARACHI: PPP alleges pre-poll rigging

Published August 12, 2002

KARACHI, Aug 11: The Pakistan People’s Party has expressed concern over the mass-scale transfer of government officials from a Larkana district constituency from where former prime minister Benazir Bhutto contests elections.

In a statement on Sunday, the Bilawal House media cell said a couple of weeks back the Election Commission had ordered that no transfers would be done till the elections, but the government was not following the directives of its own Election Commission.

Terming it pre-poll rigging, the media cell said “besides this, a large number of polling stations have also been relocated to faroff places to create problems for voters.”

It claimed that the recent government steps against the PPP leadership proved how much the government was sincere about holding free and fair elections and introducing genuine democracy, PPI adds.

A report carrying details of the recent government steps allegedly aimed to rig elections, especially in Ms Bhutto’s constituency in Larkana, was issued by the PPP here to local and international media. A spokesman for the PPP held the NRB responsible for engineering the whole plan against the PPP with the help of the Sindh government.