ISLAMABAD: A video recording and WhatsApp chat surfaced on Tuesday in which it was shown offers were being made to the lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers and by a middle-man of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for Senate and former federal minister Abbas Khan Afridi.
In the video, the son of the former prime minister and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) candidate for Senate election from the federal capital, Yousaf Raza Gillani, is allegedly involved in vote-trading.
The video recording revealed that discussion of money that took place between Ali Haider Gillani and the PTI lawmakers. In this regard, there seemed to be negotiations taking place wherein funds where promised for development funds, with values ranging from Rs50 million to Rs200 million.
To add more fuel to the fire, some WhatsApp messages also emerged of a chat where the alleged middle-man of PML-N candidate Abbas Afridi contacted Abdus Salam Afridi, a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) lawmaker of PTI for his vote.
According to sources, the video features Member of Punjab Assembly Ali Haider Gillani talking with another person who ensures him about his vote and says that they are in total four lawmakers who would surely vote for Yousaf Raza Gillani.
The video allegedly shows Ali Haider Gillani telling a lawmaker how to cast a vote or how to cast an invalid vote if pressurised for showing his ballot paper by the ruling party. However, the face of the lawmaker is not visible.
It is worth mentioning here that in the Senate elections, there were shocking revelations about buying members of the assembly, according to which in the 2018 Senate elections, PTI members were called and bought with a pile of notes.
According to the details, the government proposed to hold the Senate elections in 2021 with the open ballot, which was opposed by the opposition. However, a video of 2018 also came out regarding how the market looks like in the Senate elections.
Moreover, a video segment emerged in which Sindh Minister Nasir Shah has assured four lawmakers of getting paid “over and above” the agreed amount and also resolve all issues from the Sindh government.
The person who is finalising the deal also tells Shah that all the four are ‘sold’ and Shah also assures the lawmakers that all the tasks of his “brothers” were his own responsibility.
ALI HAIDER GILLANI ADMITS ROLE IN VOTE TRADING:
Ali Haider Gillani admitted his role in the vote-trading, saying he had sought support from the PTI lawmakers. However, he said that he did not offer money against votes.
“There is nothing wrong with that. I repeat, our members of the assembly are respectable. We are happy that Imran Khan has been sitting in the assembly for two or three days and meeting the members,” said the Ali Haider Gillani.
He said that the PTI members said that they want to vote for Yousuf Raza Gillani according to their call of conscience.
“I only talked about what to do if a marked ballot is given to them by PTI. I said then waste the vote because it will not be a vote of conscience,” he added.
Addressing a press conference here, the son of the former premier said that he was talking to his friends in the video about the Senate election.
“I have been meeting a lot of people in connection with the election campaign. We have the right to seek votes. The way Imran Khan bought his own party votes is in front of the people and all the members of the Assembly are being given Rs50 crore funds each. The Election Commission should take notice of this. Doesn’t it come in vote-buying and selling,” argued Ali Haider Gillani.
He said that some MNAs who belonged to the PTI called him and they met.
“If they call me again, I will go again. Even after the press conference, I will go to ask for votes. We get votes of conscience. We have never bought or sold votes. We never took votes by threatening leaflets or lawsuits,” he maintained.
Ali Haider Gillani said that the PTI members told him they do not want to vote for Hafeez Shaikh, who never allowed them even enter his office. He confirmed that he told them to waste their votes if they cannot vote for the former premier.
He stressed that the PPP is a democratic party and every lawmaker has a democratic right to vote.
“The government itself is bewildered and defeat is evident on their faces. Insha’Allah, tomorrow’s sun will rise with the victory of Yousaf Raza Gilani,” asserted Ali Haider Gillani.
THREE OUT OF FOUR PTI LAWMAKERS IN VIDEO IDENTIFIED:
Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that three of the PTI lawmakers featured in the video who met Ali Haider Gillani have been identified while the last one would also be found out soon.
“In the video, there are four PTI MNAs. Out of which three have been identified while information about the identity of the fourth is being ascertained,” he said.
“Action will be taken against the members who traded the Senate vote,” he added.
PTI CONTACTS ECP TO SUBMIT REFERENCE AGAINST GILLANI:
Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry along with other party lawmakers arrived at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office to submit a reference against the candidature of Yousaf Raza Gillani due to the video scandal. However, no official of the ECP was available.
Later, speaking to the media, Fawad said that after the admission of Ali Haider Gillani, the former premier must be stopped from contesting the election.
EX-PM SAYS VIDEO BEING ‘PRESENTED WRONGLY’:
Reacting to the leaked video, Yousaf Raza Gillani said that the video was being misrepresented in the media.
Talking to the media along with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, he asked whom the government was afraid of, adding that the ruling party should control its members.
The former premier said that it was their right to ask for votes, and he even wrote to the prime minister himself asking for his vote. “We want the parliament to be supreme. the prime minister did not even shake hands with anyone before but is holding meetings today,” he added.
He further said that the after the opinion of the Supreme Court (SC) on Senate elections, the ministers have started giving their opinion. “We are against horse-trading but all elections are held by secret ballot, any changes in the procedure would require legislative amendments,” he added.
ECP VOWS ‘INVESTIGATION ON MERIT’, FORMS VIGILANCE COMMITTEE:
ECP has taken notice of the video and promised to investigate the video on merit. ECP also established a telephone helpline and constituted a vigilance committee to stop electoral malpractices in the Senate elections to be held on Wednesday.
The vigilance committee members include officials of ECP, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
The committee has been tasked to provide necessary information and records to the ECP, as well as present a report if an inquiry is required to be conducted. A telephone helpline was established where the citizens could register complaints at 051-8848888.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja also made contact with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director-general (DG), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and NADRA chairpersons to seek recommendations for stopping the electoral malpractices in the upper house polls.
Moreover, a management system was also established to collect complaints by the election commission besides the establishment of a special monitoring cell which will be made functional for 24 hours for looking over the electoral process by the CEC.
Earlier in the day, the ECP said that the Senate elections slated for March 3 will be held through secret ballot as per the ‘past practices’.
An ECP meeting, with CEC Raja in the chair, deliberated the SC opinion and decided to implement it in letter and spirit, according to a statement.
“The commission is taking all possible steps and measures to fulfil its constitutional duty to check that corrupt practices in the Senate Elections are guarded against,” the ECP said.
“The commission also decided that due to time constrain, the ensuing Senate Election scheduled for March 3, 2021 will be conducted as provided in the Constitution and Law as per past practice.”
The ECP decision came a day after the apex court gave its opinion on the presidential reference, ruling that the elections for the upper house of parliament have to be conducted through secret ballot as required under the Constitution.
A video recording and WhatsApp chat surfaced on Tuesday in which it was shown offers were being made to the lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers and by a middle-man of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for Senate and former federal minister Abbas Khan Afridi.