Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, a prominent Pakistani politician who emerged victorious in the provincial elections in Karachi, Pakistan, has decided to relinquish his seat, alleging that the vote was manipulated in his favor.
According to Reuters, Pakistan conducted national and provincial elections on February 8, but the polls were overshadowed by accusations of rigging aimed at defeating independent candidates supported by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Despite denials from the caretaker government and Pakistan’s election commission, which emphasized the existence of laws and systems to investigate complaints, Rehman, a member of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, stands firm on his assertion.
Rehman secured victory in provincial seat 129 in Karachi with over 26,000 votes. However, he contends that votes cast for Saif Bari, an independent candidate backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, were unfairly reduced from 31,000 to 11,000 during the tabulation of votes from individual polling stations.
Imran Khan, currently incarcerated on corruption and criminal charges following a fallout with the country’s influential military, saw his PTI party barred from contesting elections, prompting its members to run as independents. The military refutes any interference in political affairs.
Expressing his stance to Reuters, Rehman emphasized the importance of respecting public opinion and maintaining fairness in elections. He stated, “I will not accept it; the winner should be given the victory.”
Saif Bari was unavailable for comment, and the PTI requested time to respond to the allegations. As of now, the election commission has not issued a statement in response to the situation.