On February 8, Pakistan conducted its national and provincial elections.
Pakistani Politician Hafiz Naeem
Rehman, who ran against independent candidate Saif Bari on the platform of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, claimed that the election results were rigged in his favor.
The party of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), supports Bari.
After receiving more than 26,000 votes, Rehman was declared the winner of PS-129 in the contentious national elections.
However, the candidate for Jamaat-e-Islami claimed he found that when records of votes cast at specific polling places were tallied, Bari’s votes dropped from 31,000 to 11,000 in the race.
He announced his resignation, citing his refusal to recognize an illegal win.
Rehman said on Monday, February 19, “We will not accept that if anyone wants to make us win illegitimately.”
We ought to honour the views of the people. Let the victor and vanquished prevail; nobody ought to receive an advantage, he says.
Allegations of significant fraud and intervention plagued the polls. However, Pakistani electoral authorities have refuted the claims.
The person who would assume Rehman’s PS-129 seat has yet to be disclosed.
