- February 12, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
ISLAMABAD: On Monday, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, the acting prime minister, stated that the caretaker arrangement had given all political parties an even playing field during the recently concluded elections and that it was a “free and fair” process. A significant number of independent candidates, supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, emerged as the largest single group on the national and provincial assembly seats.
He emphasized that claims of election tampering were spread via social media and were unfounded in contrast to the actual state of affairs. He also noted that throughout the nation’s democratic history, people have consistently expressed doubts about the voting process. He emphasized that these results demonstrated transparency and the absence of intervention from any source.
Despite several security obstacles, the prime minister told a press conference at the PM House that while there may have been some flaws or other small problems, overall the elections were conducted in a way that the country and the law enforcement forces should be proud of. “In areas where the PTI enjoys public backing, it has achieved outcomes never imagined in 2018,” he stated. He also mentioned that supporters of the PTI leaders who were imprisoned surfaced as candidates in the general elections, but nobody seemed to be acknowledging that this was a benefit of the caretaker government’s impartiality.
In response to a question, the prime minister stated that all parties involved should be commended for the “big achievement” of the polls being conducted peacefully, even in the face of several threats made before the election on February 8 and two terrorist incidents in the province of Balochistan. Additionally, he dismissed any concerns about the country’s integrity arising from specific demonstrations and agitations organized by particular parties, stating that “it is an absurd chronology” to compare the circumstances in Dhaka in 1971.
These are merely platitudes. Pakistan is a nation that values stability and responsibility. He quickly added, “No government could allow the situation to lead to chaos or anarchy. Holding peaceful protests is the democratic right of the people.”
In response to an inquiry, he insisted that more than 60 million people had used their constitutional right to choose their preferred candidates in “a pressure-free environment.” The prime minister congratulated the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for a job well done, stating that the procedures surrounding the compilation of results at 92,000 polling stations were the reason behind the delay in the publication of official results.
He claimed that whereas it took over 66 hours to declare the official results during the 2018 elections, it happened in just 36 hours. There might have been anomalies, but complaints could have been addressed in the appropriate forums. He said that whereas a similar exercise in Sweden took roughly 10 to 11 days, it took over a month in Indonesia to produce results. In response to a different query, the prime minister stated that mobile phone services were turned off on Election Day because the government could not risk people’s safety.
He refuted claims that the action was taken to control social media, pointing out that broadband internet connections were accessible that day and allowed anyone to connect. According to him, there were other times during the year when mobile services were halted to prevent security risks.