ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday expressed disappointment over the statements of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan regarding the voting process and results of Senate elections.
The Election commission issued its press release after a special meeting to review the allegations levelled by the PM during his address to the nation after facing major upset in the Senate polls.
”Every party and candidate should have the courage to accept its defeat in the elections,” ECP stated.
The Constitution cannot be changed to make anyone happy.
“It is a shocking matter that under the same staff in the same election under the same roof on the same day, [what they won] is acceptable and [what they lost] is unacceptable. Is this not an open contradiction?” the commission questioned.
In its statement, the ECP said: “This is democracy and free elections and the beauty of free elections which the entire nation saw and which is mandated by the Constitution.”
The ECP further added that the Senate elections were held according to the law and the Constitution and were conducted in a “good way”. adding that “statements and discussions that had come to the electoral body through media reports were “saddening” especially statements made by some members of the federal cabinet and specifically what the prime minister said in his address yesterday”.
The national institutions should be allowed to work without any pressure. If there is any disagreement then the person should provide concrete evidence to support his claims instead of maligning the departments, the commission clarified.
The election commission is well-aware of its duties and rejects the criticism, the press release further added.
This comes as PM Khan raised questions over the performance of the Election Commission of Commission (ECP) for not taking action against individuals “buying” votes for their candidates in recently held Senate polls while addressing the nation.
“We presented a bill in the parliament for open balloting in Senate elections. When other parties who previously supported open balloting did not support our demand, we went to the Supreme Court,” adding that “Even a video surfaced in which KP MPAs were receiving bribes in exchange for Senate votes.”
The Supreme Court told the Election Commission of Pakistan that it is the electoral body’s responsibility to hold transparent elections, he said.
