A Pakistani politician who emerged victorious in last week’s controversial national elections has voluntarily relinquished his seat, citing allegations of vote rigging in his favor.
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, representing the Jamaat-e-Islami party, had won the provincial assembly seat PS-129 in Karachi.
However, he claimed that the candidate backed by Imran Khan’s PTI party had actually received more votes, and their tally was manipulated.
Rehman stated, “If anyone wants to make us win in an illegitimate manner, we will not be accepting that,” and emphasized the importance of respecting public opinion.
He revealed that, despite receiving over 26,000 votes, the independent candidate Saif Bari, supported by PTI, had allegedly garnered 31,000 votes, but these were misrepresented as 11,000 votes.
Pakistani electoral authorities have denied these allegations, and it remains unclear who will now occupy the PS-129 seat.
This incident adds to the ongoing crisis surrounding Pakistan’s recent elections, marred by accusations of widespread vote fraud and interference, particularly affecting candidates affiliated with Imran Khan.
The former prime minister has been in jail since last August, and his party was disqualified, necessitating PTI candidates to run as independents.
Despite these challenges, voters turned out in large numbers across the country.
Independent candidates, mainly aligned with PTI, secured 93 of the 265 contested National Assembly seats, the highest number for any single party.
However, PTI claims that these candidates should have won more seats, alleging numerous instances of vote rigging. The party welcomed the Jamaat-e-Islami’s decision to relinquish the Karachi seat.
Despite PTI’s success in the popular vote, rival parties led by Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s PPP announced a coalition agreement to form a government. PML-N won 75 seats, and PPP secured 54 seats in the recent vote.
Together with smaller parties, they will easily reach the 169 seats required to form a government, including additional seats allocated for women and non-Muslims. Nawaz Sharif’s brother, Shehbaz, is presented as the likely next leader of Pakistan.
Imran Khan, ousted as prime minister in 2022, faced criminal charges and imprisonment before the recent elections.
He contends that the legal cases against him were fabricated as part of a broader political witch-hunt, a claim denied by Pakistan’s caretaker government.
Source-BBC
