The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday termed the allegations of rigging in November 23 by-elections, particularly in NA-18 Haripur, as “baseless”.

By-elections were held for six National Assembly and seven Punjab Assembly seats earlier this month. The PML-N fielded its candidates on all seats except a provincial one in Muzaffargarh, and secured victory on all 12 of them. However, opposition party PTI alleged rigging with leader Asad Qaiser rejecting the results.

“As usual, certain specific elements are levelling baseless allegations to make the recent by-elections (particularly NA-18 Haripur) controversial. These allegations include portraying the appointment of the district returning officer (DRO) and returning officer (RO) in NA-18 Haripur as a conspiracy,” the election regulator said in a statement.

Terming such claims “entirely contrary to the facts”, the ECP explained that due to a shortage of staff during general elections, it was not possible for the Commission to appoint ROs and DROs itself. However, in by-elections, such appointments were made as needed.

“In this by-election as well, officers of the Commission already posted in the same area were appointed as DRO and RO,” said the ECP.

“Under the Elections Act, 2017, this is the Commission’s fully legal authority, and the Election Commission has always appointed DROs and ROs using this authority,” it added.

The appointments of DROs and ROs are made well before polling day, and no objection was raised from any side until the day of the election, according to the ECP. “These allegations are being made only after losing the election.”

Furthermore, the ECP said that various forums existed for resolving disputes once the election was completed. “If the RO had refused to receive any application, the concerned party should have approached the Election Commission, but this was not done.”

Similarly, the statement added, “for stopping consolidation or requesting recounting after the election, the first forum is the RO, and if the RO does not act, the Commission should be approached within the prescribed time, but this was also not done”.

The Commission detailed that the allegation of Form-45 being prepared in advance is also incorrect, because “all presiding officers and support staff were taken from the provincial administration”.

“Had the Election Commission desired, it could have appointed employees of federal institutions posted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as presiding officers,” ECP said. “The staff provided by the provincial administration submitted the polling bags and results to the RO’s office after the election, and the security personnel were also from the provincial government.”

The purpose of repeating the same baseless accusations after every election, ECP claimed in its statement, “is only to cast doubt on the electoral process”.

“If any party has objections to the results, the proper forum is the Election Tribunal (which is already functional) where an election petition may be filed, instead of making allegations in the media,” ECP stated, adding that the Commission, including in these by-elections, “has taken actions strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the law and will continue to do so”.

Later, Special Assistant to the KP Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan said that the provincial government had decided to initiate a formal inquiry into the NA-18 Haripur by-election amid allegations of irregularities.

He added that a reference regarding the alleged rigging was also being sent to the ECP.

Additional input from Muhammad Ashfaq