ISLAMABAD: The members of the Upper House of the Parliament on Tuesday demanded the forum to hold a probe of the general elections results to ensure free and fair polls and establish respect for public mandate.
The Senators while addressing the adjournment motion moved by Senators Muhammad Tahir Bizinjo, Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen, Mushtaq Ahmed, Syed Ali Zafar and others regarding the situation arising out of the results of General Elections-2024 as a matter of national importance.
Senator Saif Ullah Abro of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanded that there were 858 total seats of national and provincial assemblies that had almost 160,000 From-45 (essential document to tabulate a provincial or general assembly constituency poll result) that should be verified through audit to establish the credibility of the General Elections-2024 as free and fair polls.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, independent, said the Elections held on February 8th were historic yet contentious as it had transformed the political scenario and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), PPP and PTI has emerged as the largest political parties of the country and they should now unite for the country.
He proposed a three-point way forward citing general amnesty for all political prisoners including missing persons of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), inclusion of all into the political process and formulation of a national government to safeguard democracy and the political system to circumvent any crisis-like situation.
PTI Senator Walid Iqbal said that the shutting down of mobile and internet services during elections had invited criticism from the world.
He said that the caretaker government and the election commission would have to prove that there was no “malice” in this regard.
He further asked about the whereabouts of the Form-45, noting that the chief election commissioner had directed to release all results till 2am on election night.
Jamaat-i-Islami’s Senator Mushtaq Ahmed has said that mobile and internet services were shut down. “At that moment, it was evident that polls were not free, fair or transparent,” he said.
