Jailed ex-Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has alleged that “blatant rigging” took place in the recently held by-polls in which the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) got the lion’s share, as it announced a plan for countrywide protests, said a media report on Tuesday.
On Sunday, amidst tight security, by-polls were held to 21 national and provincial assembly seats. To maintain law and order, cellular and internet services were suspended in specific districts of Punjab and Balochistan.
Victory for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
According to the unofficial results on Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won at least two national and 10 provincial assembly seats.
The PTI leaders on Monday said that April 21 will be remembered as a “black day” in the history of Pakistan. They alleged “open and blatant violations of law”, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The party urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to withhold the notifications of results and announced a series of protests starting Friday.
The PTI doubted the top electoral watchdog’s credibility. Its chairman Gohar questioned why the Election Commission of Pakistan didn’t involve returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers from the judiciary.
Two seats each of the National Assembly in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were up for grabs. One seat in Sindh witnessed a by-poll. 12 seats of the Punjab Assembly and two each of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies witnessed elections.