‘Votes rigged in my favour’: ‘Honest’ Pakistan politician quits seat

"Public opinion should be respected, let the winner win," Pakistan politician says his opponent, Imran Khan's candidate, defeated by vote rigging.

Published on: Feb 14, 2024, 22:49:26 IST

By HT News Desk

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A senior Pakistani politician who emerged victorious in last week's provincial elections in Karachi has quit his seat, saying that the vote was manipulated in his favour.

People walk past a banner with a picture of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan outside the party office of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). (REUTERS)

Pakistan held national and provincial elections on February 8, but these polls were marred by accusations of rigging aimed at defeating independent candidates supported by the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

Despite these allegations, the caretaker government and Pakistan's election commission have refuted the claims, saying that the country has established laws and systems to investigate specific complaints.

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Who is the politician and how did he discover rigging?

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, a member of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, was declared the winner of provincial seat 129 in Karachi after securing more than 26,000 votes.

However, Rehman revealed that he discovered discrepancies in the vote count when records of votes cast for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party-backed independent candidate, Saif Bari, were reduced from 31,000 to 11,000 upon tabulation of votes at individual polling stations.

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Imran Khan is currently jailed on corruption and criminal charges following a fallout with the country's powerful military. Consequently, his PTI party was barred from contesting elections, compelling members to run as independents. The military denies any interference in politics.

Rehman emphasised the importance of respecting public opinion, saying, "Let the winner win, let the loser lose, and no one should receive anything extra." He declared, “I will not accept it; the victory should be rightfully awarded to the winner.”

(Inputs from Reuters)

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