PTI And JUI-F To Protest Alleged Rigging In Elections 2024

The political landscape in Pakistan is currently marred by controversy and unrest as protests erupt across the nation, led by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Jamiat Ulama-e-Pakistan (JUI-F). The source of discontent is the alleged “rigging” in the recently concluded national elections, which has fueled suspicions of electoral manipulation and prompted various political factions to raise concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.

The 2024 national elections in Pakistan experienced significant disruptions in the counting process, contributing to a growing sense of unease and skepticism. This situation has prompted protests from multiple political groups, particularly those affiliated with PTI, who claim that their electoral mandate has been compromised.

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According to official results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) late on Saturday, independent candidates, largely aligned with PTI, secured 101 seats in the National Assembly. In contrast, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 74 seats. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan raised concerns on Saturday, alleging that the party’s victories had been overturned into defeats on 22 National Assembly seats, including three in Islamabad, four in Sindh, and the remainder in Punjab province.

In response to these allegations, PTI has called for “peaceful protests” across various parts of Punjab, scheduling demonstrations at key locations such as Liberty Chowk in Lahore, Ghanta Ghar in Faisalabad, and the Election Commission of Pakistan’s office in Rawalpindi, all set to take place at 2:00 p.m. The objective of these protests is to express dissatisfaction with the perceived rigging and demand a fair investigation into the electoral process.

Simultaneously, the JUI-F, a long-standing rival of PTI, has also joined the chorus of dissent by announcing sit-ins in various locations in Sindh to protest against the alleged rigging. The religious party has urged its supporters to stage a sit-in on major highways across Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Sunday, with the aim of disrupting key road links as a form of protest against the electoral irregularities.

The unrest manifested on Saturday when Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro, the provincial leader of JUI-F, led a sit-in outside a temporary ECP office in Sindh’s Sukkur district. The protest was fueled by allegations of manipulation of election results in favor of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh. This further underscores the deep-seated concerns about the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.

Adding another layer to the complexity of the situation, Pakistan’s election regulatory authority, a day earlier, took the extraordinary step of ordering repeat voting at 43 polling stations in three national and provincial constituencies. This decision was prompted by incidents of theft and destruction of polling materials, emphasizing the challenges and irregularities that have plagued the electoral process, leading to widespread dissatisfaction and protests across the country.