EU observers rule out military interference in voting process
EU observer chief says on election day, polling was assessed as well conducted and transparent
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The European Union Election Observation Mission chief Michael Gahler on Friday said that deputation of EU observers was delayed during Wednesday’s landmark general elections which affected the monitoring of electoral process.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, he said that results were still expected from several constituencies, however, this won’t damage the electoral process.
Gahler said that they do not have interest in the results but instead they have interest in the electoral process.
In its initial findings on this week s Pakistani parliamentary elections, the EU Election Observation Mission concluded that polling was relatively transparent, but raised the alarm on unfair pre-election practices.
The EU observer chief went on to say that Pakistani military had not interfered in the voting process.
“On election day, polling was assessed as well conducted and transparent,” he said. “However, counting was somewhat problematic with staff not always following the procedures.”
Meanwhile, the latest Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) official partial results showed Khan s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), or Pakistan Movement for Justice party, had won 116 seats out of the National Assembly has 272 seats in total.
Although Khan appeared likely to fall short of the 137 seats needed for a majority in the National Assembly, his better-than-expected results mean he should have no problems forming a government with a handful of small coalition partners.
One of the first tasks for Khan, once he forms the government, will be to avert a currency crisis, which follows four devaluations of the rupee currency since December, and will likely require Islamabad to seek Pakistan s second International Monetary Fund bailout since 2013.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had 64 seats, the results showed. The Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was third with 43 seats.
"The PML-N would play the role of a strong opposition," said Shehbaz Sharif.
PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said that work to build the governing coalition was already underway and that the party would consider both independents and allies, in a process that could take several days.
Despite initially rejecting Khan s win and alleging that vote rigging had taken place, Shahbaz Sharif s Muslim League accepted the results on Friday. Sharif is still behind bars on corruption charges, after being detained upon his return to Pakistan on the eve of the election.
