Pakistan elections: Rawalpindi commissioner resigns admitting to tampering results

Supporters of Pakistan’s Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’ chant slogans

A senior Pakistani bureaucrat has resigned admitting his role in manipulating results in the 8 February national elections amid widespread protests.

Liaquat Ali Chattha, the election commissioner for Rawalpindi, announced his resignation addressing the media on Saturday where he told reporters he was under “pressure” from top officials to manipulate the results.

He also claimed the country’s two top officials – the chief election commissioner and the chief justice – were also involved in rigging.

“I am taking the responsibility for all this wrongdoing and telling you that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice are also completely involved in this,” he said, according to Dawn News.

Mr Chattha told reporters the candidates who were “losing” the elections “were made to win”.

Mr Chattha also said the pressure on him was so intense that he contemplated self-harm, but later decided to expose the matter in front of the media because “stabbing the country in its back does not let” him sleep.

“I should be punished for the injustice I have done and others who were involved in this injustice should also be punished,” he told reporters.

“It is my request to the entire bureaucracy to not do anything wrong for all these politicians.”

His remarks come amid widespread protests in the country held by supporters of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan who allege the polls were rigged against his party to keep him out of power.

The allegations of rigging were rejected by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which said it never plays a “direct role in the conduct of elections”. However, it said that the matter will be investigated.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan strongly rejects the allegations levelled by Commissioner Rawalpindi on the chief election commissioner or the election commission and no official of the election commission never issued any instructions regarding changing the election results to Commissioner Rawalpindi,” it said in a statement.

“Neither is the commissioner of any division ever appointed as a DRO, RO or presiding officer, nor do they ever play a direct role in the conduct of elections.”

Reacting to the news, the information minister of the state of Punjab, Amir Mir, said Mr Chattha had “not shown any proof” of the alleged tampering of poll results.

He told Geo News that the official was about to retire on 13 March.

“I imagine he’s trying to kick start his political career after he retires.”

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