Maryam Nawaz lashes out at Imran Khan over poll rigging: 'Why are you afraid of power of the vote'

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz on Monday lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan over the Daska by-election rigging and asked why he is scared of the "power of the vote", reported The News International.

Taking to Twitter, Maryam taunted the government and warned that measures such as the alleged Daska by-election rigging and "breakdown of the RTS system" will not be tolerated again.

"Why are you afraid of the power of the vote," she asked.

The PML-N leader stated it had been proven again that the Constitution was superior to "conspiratorial ordinances" and "references based on ill intentions".

Amid controversy over irregularities in the Daska by-poll, Maryam on Wednesday had called Imran Khan "vote-thief" and accused government agencies of rigging the elections.

This comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last week had said in a statement that it suspected that the results of 20 polling stations were falsified.

The by-election in the NA-75 constituency for the country's National Assembly was marred by violence at a polling station in the Daska constituency.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Pakistan said that the upcoming Senate elections cannot be held via open balloting.

However, the court also held that the secrecy of the ballot is not "absolute" and can be diluted by practical considerations, especially those that relate to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) exercising its mandate to conduct free-and-fair elections that are devoid of any corrupt practices, reported The New International.

Regarding the secrecy of the ballot, the Supreme Court had referred to a precedent in which it had held that the secrecy of the ballot is not absolute and that "the secrecy of the ballot [...] has not to be implemented in the ideal or absolute sense, but to be tempered by practical considerations necessitated by the processes of election".

The apex court said it is up to the ECP to decide to which extent the voting should remain secret.

"It is the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan in terms of Article 218(3) of the Constitution, to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against," read the order by the Supreme Court.

"The Election Commission of Pakistan is required by the Constitution to take all necessary steps in order to fulfill the above mandate/duty in terms of Article 222 of the Constitution," it added.

(ANI)

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