Imran Khan's party forms special committees to strategise government formation in Centre, Punjab, KP
Islamabad (PTI): Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party has established special committees to strategise the government formation at the Centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Participants during the party's core committee meeting agreed to early completion of the nomination process for important government and parliamentary positions according to the recommendations and strategies proposed by the committees, Dawn News cited a statement as saying on Monday.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is formulating a plan to form its government in the Centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after independent candidates backed by the party bagged 101 of the 266 National Assembly seats in the recently concluded February 8 elections marred by allegations of rigging.
The PTI-backed candidates ran as independents due to the party losing the election symbol of bat' following controversy surrounding its intra-party elections.
The statement issued after the party's core committee said specialised committees entrusted with the responsibility of devising strategies for government formation in these pivotal regions had been constituted.
These committees are focused on accelerating the nomination process for crucial governmental and parliamentary roles, guided by their proposed recommendations and strategies, it said.
The PTI in the statement affirmed its commitment to prevent any unethical endeavours to hand over the cash-strapped country's leadership to individuals with criminal backgrounds.
The party maintained that the people bestowed upon the party's founding chairman Imran Khan an "unparalleled certificate of patriotism", giving a "heavy mandate" to his party.
Separately, PTI leaders held a meeting with President Dr Arif Alvi to brief him on the alleged irregularities during the elections.
According to a statement issued by the president's office, President Alvi during his meeting with PTI leaders Raoof Hassan and Umer Niazi was apprised of the party's stance and reiterated that Form-45, issued in various constituencies, reflected the facts of the electoral outcomes.
They emphasised that despite attempts to pressurise the party, snatching of electoral symbols, and numerous arrests, PTI emerged victorious against all odds.
According to the party, the PTI was cruising with a lead of 170 National Assembly seats before the alleged rigging swung the pendulum in favour of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
Around 60 million, or approximately 47 per cent, of nearly 129 million voters cast their ballots last Thursday to elect a new government to bring cash-strapped Pakistan out of financial crunch.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
