PTIThe Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has demanded the European Union (EU) report on the February 8 general elections to be made public.
“The EU report on the elections should be made public,” PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. Recalling the EU delegation’s visit to Pakistan before the polls, Hasan said that the intergovernmental body has confirmed handing over its report on the country’s general elections to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
“The EU report is very sensitive and important,” he added. The PTI spokesperson’s demand comes as the party has time again complained of wide-scale rigging and election result manipulation in last month’s general elections claiming that its mandate was “stolen”. The former ruling party’s founder Imran Khan had also written to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calling on the global lender to hold an audit of the election results before approving any new loan for Islamabad – a demand excused by the Washington-based lender citing its “narrow mandate on economic issues” saying that it does not comment on domestic political developments. It is pertinent to know that following the February 8 polls, the EU’s Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano had deplored the “lack of a level playing field due to the inability of some political actors to contest the elections, restrictions to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression both online and offline, restrictions of access to the internet, as well as allegations of severe interference in the electoral process, including arrests of political activists.”
The EU official had also called upon the relevant authorities to ensure a timely and full investigation of all reported election irregularities and to implement the recommendations of the Election Expert Mission report. However, EU wasn’t the only entity that had expressed concerns over the polls, as both the United States and the United Kingdom have expressed concerns about the “restricted” election environment followed up by allegations of irregularities and interference in the polling process.
