ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday claimed victory in the NA-75 by-election yet stated that they would wait for the official results from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) released the official results.
This comes after the ECP “feared compromised” results a day prior and had restrained authorities from announcing unofficial results of NA-75 Sialkot-VI as both the ruling party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had claimed victory in the constituency.
PTI ministers and leaders, including Fawad Chaudhry, Shibli Faraz, Firdous Ashiq Awan and Usman Dar, held a joint press conference in Sialkot’s Daska town.
Information Minister Shibli Faraz asserted that the largest opposition party had decided that they would now win all elections at ‘gunpoint’, while PML-N Vice President has asked for a recount in Daska.
Faraz also said that PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanauallah was behind the Daska firing incident on Friday, wherein two people had lost their lives.
“PML-N sent Rana Sanaullah, Mian Javed Latif and others in Daska for rigging and create unrest in the area,” he said, adding that the Daska firing incident was reminiscent of the Model Town incident that took place during PML-N’s last tenure in Punjab.
Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain maintained during the presser that there was no need to hold a recount and pointed out PTI did not hurl rigging allegations after it was defeated in Karachi, Nowshera and Wazirabad by-election while asking PML-N to accept its defeat
Punjab government spokesperson Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said PML-N was hatching conspiracies to make by-election and ECP controversial.
A day earlier, Science Minister Fawad Hussain had congratulated the PTI candidate from the constituency on Saturday and had urged the ECP to release the result “immediately”. The seat is traditionally considered a bastion of the PML-N.
In Sialkot, the district returning officer and returning officer of NA-75 had informed the ECP that they feared compromised results from 20 polling stations. They further informed the ECP that a fair inquiry was required over the matter and announcing results before any inquiry will not be possible.
A day earlier, Information Minister Shibli Faraz urged the opposition to support the initiative of open voting in the Senate elections to ensure transparency.
Speaking in the Senate on Saturday, the information minister had said that the corruption and giving preference to personal interests over the national interests have weakened democracy and badly affected the country.
Faraz had said that the rule of law cannot be ensured until the elimination of corruption and horse-trading in the voting process is why the government wants to ensure transparency in the senate elections. He had said, “It is our responsibility to end the culture of use of money in politics through legislation.”
The information minister had maintained the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and PML-N have promised the nation in the Charter of Democracy to hold transparent elections in the country, and they must fulfil their promise to the masses. The minister said both parties ruled the country for ten years each, but failed to hold transparent elections.
Concluding the debate, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan had said Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to ensuring transparency and rule of law in the country. He had stressed opposition leaders should support the government initiative to set historical tradition regarding holding transparent elections.
The minister of state had said the former PPP chairpersons Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, and other leaders had played a vital role in strengthening democracy in the country and their political followers should follow their steps. He had said this is a rare opportunity for all political forces to close permanently the doors of corruption and horse-trading through legislation.
Taking the floor, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani had said that the PTI government’s presidential ordinance to amend the secret-balloting method in the Senate elections is based on “malicious intent”.
Turning his guns on the treasury benches, the former Senate chairman had said that President Arif Alvi “went against the Constitution” and “purposely” paved the way for an opportunity to “undermine” the Upper House.
Rabbani had reiterated the opposition’s claim that the president had promulgated the ordinance to “control the hostility within their ranks”. “This ordinance was promulgated to forward a political agenda.”
“Today is the Senate’s first session after the issuance of the presidential ordinance. According to the Constitution, the ordinance should be presented in the first sitting after its issuance,” he had said.
Explaining why he believed that the ordinance was based on “malicious intent”, Rabbani had maintained that the government had not presented it in the National Assembly session yesterday, and neither was it moved in the Senate sitting today.
The PPP leader, asking the government why it had not taken the Opposition into confidence regarding the amendment bill, had stated: “After a debate took place on the amendment bill in the National Assembly, the government indefinitely adjourned the National Assembly and Senate’s sessions.”
“The ordinance was not presented out of fear that a resolution to reject it might have been presented,” he added.
Earlier, the upper house had unanimously passed a condolence resolution over the sad demise of Senator Mushahidullah Khan.
Opposition Leader in the House Raja Zafarul Haq had moved the resolution. The resolution said Mushahidullah Khan was a firm democrat and a seasoned politician and his services for democracy, the supremacy of parliament and the people will be remembered for a long time.
