'Re-polling delay a conspiracy against upper Chitral'
By Zulfiqar Ahmad
ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: The inordinate delay in holding re-election in seven polling stations of PK-90 Chitral II has left the people of the constituency bewildered without any representative in the provincial assembly.
The constituency has been left without MPA after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended Ghulam Muhammad on the directives of an election tribunal on December 12.
The election tribunal ordered re-polling in the seven polling stations of the said constituency after recounting of rejected and postal ballots in response to a petition filed by Sardar Hussain of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), who had lost May 11, 2013 election with just seven votes.
However, the ECP did not pay any heed to the plight of the people for about two and half months and finally announced the re-election schedule on February 18. According to ECP election schedule, the re-polling will be held on April 13, which has left the inhabitants in a catch-22 situation.
“The commission is pleased to observe that since April 13 (Sunday) was fixed on the report and recommendation of (district returning officer) DRO, Chitral, provincial election commission and Election Commission of Pakistan, therefore, the re-polling will be held on April 13, 2014,” said the ECP notification.
Talking to this correspondent over the phone from Chitral, people belonging to different walks of life castigated the ECP decision, saying re-polling in seven constituencies in mid-April without any valid reason was beyond their comprehension.
They said that the total number of voters in the seven polling stations was hardly 4000, of which the total turnout could be around 2000-2500 as some people were not present in the area while a few might not turn up.
“Had it been some urban constituency the ECP would not have taken the matter so lightly… delaying tactics on the part of the ECP speaks volumes of its incompetence,” regretted Afzal Aman.
Some locals even went to the extent of saying that the people of Chitral are being punished for voting for former president Gen Pervez Msuharraf as the suspended MPA Ghulam Muhammad had clinched the seat on the ticket of APML.
They said that the member National Assembly from Chitral Shehzada Iftikharuddin who also won the seat on APML ticket was receiving step-motherly treatment from PML-N led federal government.
The Prime Minister has time to go on a recreational trip to the deserts of Cholistan but he has no time to pay a visit to Chitral despite several requests made by the MNA, they lamented.
Good Job Done.
This is funny. ” ulta chor kotwal ko dantay” fully suits the reply from Mr Ahmed.
@ Ahmed.. MPA mojud asika kura sorain baghai developmenta .. Developmento nama paisan Faiz ur Rakhman tekedaro ochay ayuno daud oyoni.. Torkowo road sawuz no bika pat chequan ta MPA ditiasitai tan partneranantay,, phuk guzara korur pisa relan gani bo tori lu domian..
PTI ka Leader tum logon ke sar pa sawar ho gaya hai. Sab se pehli hum sab ko man lena chahiye ke guzray huway election mein dhandli aur baimani huwi thi. ye koi chupi bat nahi hai, har gaon mein mobile, rela or paisay leni deni ki bat huwi thi. aur dusri bat Chief kay taluqat to bohot hain magar mera nahi khial key election commission tak is kam keliey koi rasai kary. Chief sb ney apna qanuni haq istemal kiya hai aur is bat ko hamay barha charha key paish nahi karna chahiye.
@Ahmed, I do not understand why people like you by using fake names are hellbent to criticize the PTI candidate from Upper Chitral. The commission constituted by the election commission has clearly mentioned the details of the discrepancies and large scale rigging during the elections in PK-90. It is the right of every responsible citizen to approach the doors of the court and Mr Ghazi is no exception. We all have seen the during the elections. Apart from PTI, JUI is also a party in this case and in the Supreme Court. The APML cronies are really looking confused in this situation as if there are re-elections they might not be able to distribute the wheels barrows so freely.
Note: the following letter from Ahmed was also published in The News on Feb 20.
The people of upper Chitral have been without any representative in the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for more than six months now after an election tribunal ordered re-election in seven controversial polling stations.
The decision to hold re-polling was ordered after recounting of rejected and postal ballots by an election tribunal in response to a petition filed by a runner-up candidate who challenged the results citing huge irregularities in the May 11 general elections.
However, the inordinate delay in holding re-elections by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) speaks volume of its callous attitude towards the people of the area. Despite passage of around three months it has now announced re-polling in the said polling stations on April 13 – a delay in no way justified. Almost one year has passed and there has been no development in the said constituency. Apparently a local retired bureaucrat is applying different tactics to delay the polls. We, the people of upper Chitral, appeal to Imran Khan to reign in these few corrupt bureaucrats who are out to tarnish the image of the party by misusing the name of Imran Khan to achieve their own vested interest.