NA debates alleged rigging in LG polls

* Musharraf involved in rigging, says Amin
* House adjourned for lack of quorum on second consecutive day

By Shahzad Raza and Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarians (PPPP) leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim accused President Pervez Musharraf of active involvement in rigging during the local council elections, as the National Assembly on Tuesday took up adjournment motions accusing the government of foul play in the recently concluded elections.

However, the debate could not culminate as the government once again failed to maintain quorum in the house on the second consecutive day in a session that it had convened itself.

The PPPP leader said the president had himself been part of the rigging process, as he had visited a few districts and asked voters to elect ruling party candidates. Voters in all constituencies, he alleged, had been threatened with discontinuation of development projects in their areas if they did not vote for the ruling coalition’s candidates. He alleged the government machinery had been used to usurp people’s voting rights, as senior federal and provincial government functionaries had also violated the Election Commission’s (EC) code of conduct. He further accused the police and EC of working to ensure the ruling coalition’s triumph. He criticised the Sindh government for making new districts to give an advantage to its candidates.

He said that he would not accept elections in which women voters had been barred from voting. Although the elections had supposedly been non-party, he maintained, the government had announced its candidates in a number of districts. Naheed Khan of PPP-P also accused the president of asking people to vote for the ruling-PML during a public meeting in Sawat on July 30.

The opposition members who presented the motion reiterated allegations of manipulation of election results. Member of National Assembly (MNA) Rana Mehmoodul Hassan, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, alleged that 80 of his relatives had been unlawfully held by police during the elections. MNA Imran Khan said these elections would further strengthen the roots of corruption as no accountability of previous nazims had been conducted, despite demands from both sides of the house. He demanded an independent EC for future elections.

Treasury members defended the government and made counter-allegations of rigging by opposition parties in the past. However, they did not rule out rigging by candidates in their individual capacity. They also accused many opposition-backed candidates of rigging the elections.

Narcotics Control Minister Ghous Bux Mahar accused the opposition of making baseless accusations, and termed the elections ‘fair and transparent’. Hanif Abbasi, a Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) leader, said he had remained vigilant in his constituency (Rawal Town) during the elections. The fact that opposition-backed candidates had won 32 union councils out of 46 in Rawal Town was proof, he said, of fair elections. Following the opposition’s speeches, Hafiz Hussian Ahmed pointed out the lack of quorum, barring the government from responding to opposition allegations. The speaker was forced to adjourn the house for lack of quorum.

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