RIGGING
SCANDALS, STREET SHOWS and DATA PANDITS
Have Protesters
trust on Courts? Or it is
SAME OLD
STORY….SAME OLD POLITICS
Aamir Riaz May 14th
Aamir Riaz May 14th
First
democratic transition still in the trouble, this time not due to non-elected elite
but by a political party which took majority in KyberPK in the same election.
Normally, street power is considered as last resort and if you have no trust on
courts & relevant institutions then one can use street power. After May 11
election results all political parties are blaming fellow political parties for
selective rigging. Till this time ECP
has announced result of 258 seats out of total 272 seats. Now 14 seats are
remaining and at NA 250 ECP has announced re-election schedule for May 19.
Among 13 seats, elections has been terminated at NA 254 (Karachi) and NA 83 (faislabad),
NA 38 (FATA) elections has been postponed while at NA 269 ( khuzdar) has been
withheld. Results for 9 NA seats are still in waiting i-e NA 41, 266, 260, 230,
229, 216, 210 & 171. Except Karachi’s massive rigging at selective seats, the
situation was not as bad in general yet the situation changed when Mr. Mudassar
rizvi of FAFEN appeared in a prime TV show @ Geo channel at Monday and gave a exaggerated
story regarding rigging. Next day print
media too picked that news and according to daily time report
“Talking to a private TV channel, FAFEN CEO
Muddasir Rizvi said that in at least 120 polling stations, the turnout remained
more than 100 present and in several other polling stations, the turnout was
recorded at more than 300 present.”
Although the ratio was to
low too got such space in media,
as out of 70,000 polling stations , the smart consultant pointed out only 120
polling stations yet same evening Mudassar’s data was removed from FAFEN
website and now there is a regret and clarification pasted there. You may read
the content of that statement cum clarification at
ISLAMABAD, May 14, 2013 – The Free and Fair Election Network
(FAFEN) would like to clarify the list of 49 polling stations with more than
100% voter turnout released on May 13, 2013. The data was based on
reports of citizen observers trained to monitor the voting and counting
processes on Election Day.
FAFEN regrets inaccuracies
pointed out by Returning Officers in Nowshera, Charsadda and Rawalpindi and
would like to correct the record for three polling stations. According to
official Statements of the Count, the voter turnout in PS-155 in NA-6 was 56%;
in PS-113 in NA-7 the turnout was 64%; and in PS-238 in NA-52 the turnout was
approximately 50%.
Inaccuracies in FAFEN’s data might
have been due to human errors by volunteer citizen observers in transcribing
numbers by hand from Statements of the Count late at night on Election
Day. The errors also could be due to changes in the polling station
numbers as listed in the polling schemes, which changes the number of
registered voters at each station used as the basis for the calculation.
The purposes of FAFEN’s report
were to urge Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to release polling
station-wise data before certifying election results in any constituency, which
will help reveal any problems that require further investigation and
action.
Release of polling station data
will enhance electoral transparency and also help address allegations of
rigging by political parties and their supporters. An objective analysis
of polling station vote counts and corrective actions by ECP in cases of
irregularities will enhance public confidence in the electoral process.
Protestors
used that information at social media and in their camps. Such data not only
confused people at large but also gave relief to MQM massive rigging at Karachi
too. On the other hand statements by other international observers were based
on rational analyses and one fine example is NDI report. I-e
PRELIMINARY
STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE-
ASIAN
NETWORK FOR FREE ELECTIONS INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION PAKISTAN.
Among the
protestors PTI workers are at forefront while J.I, JUI, PML (N), Akhtar mengal
party, PPP and MQM also followed the path. All of them are pinpointing
selective rigged constituencies from where their candidates lost. As a layman,
through media we witnessed massive rigging in Karachi Hyderabad yet all other
stories are based on hearsay. In a
situation where we have an independent ECP and free courts, is it a good
example to take this issue on streets? MQM has reservations regarding courts
yet PTI, JI & PML(N) has belief in courts than why to opt street power
first. Is it good to follow gandhian
path of politics for those who claims that they are followers of Allama Iqbal
and Jinnah who always preferred to use legal and constitutional ways even in British
colonial times.
Is it a
reflection of New Pakistan? It is high time to rethink it. Now-a-days all
political parties and donors are emphasizing on the role of youth in Pakistan.
What message we are giving to our youth?
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