Former Pakistani Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Justice Movement (JM) party Imran Khan on Thursday said there would be uncontrollable consequences if the incumbent government interferes in the Punjab provincial chief minister elections due to be held on Friday. This was reported by The Frontier Post, citing the former head of government's address to the nation.
In his message, Khan said that "the government made every effort to defeat his party in the Punjab elections," and criticized the actions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and its chairman, Sultan Raja. "We [the ECP] kept filing complaints about electoral irregularities, but the ECP didn't pay attention," the paper quoted the former prime minister as saying. - "We don't want to participate in a general election under the current head of the election commission."
Khan added that if "the JM, one of the largest parties in the country," does not trust the ECP chairman, he "should resign."
The former prime minister said that his government pushed for the mass introduction of electronic ballot boxes to be used in voting during his mandate. The initiative was under consideration by the Pakistani cabinet, but was scrapped after a vote of no confidence and the ruling coalition came to power. Khan said supporters of current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif were not interested in introducing electronic ballot boxes because "they would have leveled some 130 ways to interfere with the electoral process."
Khan stressed that "those responsible for the elections in Punjab should be punished" because they "used every possible method to defeat the JM." "If tomorrow's vote in the Punjab Provincial Assembly for the chief minister's nominee is stolen, I warn that the country will go the way of Sri Lanka and that I withdraw my responsibility for whatever happens next," the JM leader warned.
The JM won the July 17 Punjab provincial parliamentary elections, winning 15 of the 20 seats, while the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, considered the favored party in the region, won only four seats.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials TASS