Rawalpindi commissioner resigns, admits tampering with election results for 13 seats

ISLAMABAD: Amid protests across Pakistan against rigging in the Feb 8 polls, a top bureaucrat resigned his position on Saturday and admitted his role in manipulating election results to deny victory to Independent candidates from the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in 13 National Assembly constituencies.
Liaquat Ali Chattha, commissioner for Rawalpindi division, said all PTI-affiliated candidates winning elections up to a 70,000 margin were made to lose through massive rigging under his watch.He also accused two top officials — Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja — of involvement in rigging.
“I am taking responsibility for all wrongdoing and telling you that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice are also completely involved in this,” he told media in Rawalpindi.
Chattha said there was “pressure” on him to the extent that he contemplated suicide but then resolved to present the matter before the pubic because stabbing the country in the back “does not let me sleep”, he said. He asked theentirebureaucracy nottocommit wrongdoings “to makethesepoliticians win”. “I should be punished for the injustice I have done and others who were involved in this injustice should also be punished,” he said.
Chatta’s press conferencecomesamid widespread protests in Pakistan alleging the elections were rigged to keep Imran Khan and his party out of power. Following the presser, the chiefjusticeasked the top bureaucrat to presentevidence of his involvement in the rigging. “You level baseless allegations. There is no truth to it nor is evidence presented. You can level allegations all you want, it is your right, but present evidence to back it. Whether good or bad, it will be determined later,”the top judge said, addingthat his role was restricted to facilitation of conduct of elections.
Election Commission of Pakistan said the matter would be investigated. “The ECP 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 (sic) issued any instructions regarding changing election results to commissioner, Rawalpindi,” the electoral watchdog said.
“Neither is the commissioner of any division ever appointed as a DRO (district returning officer), RO (returning officer) or presiding officer, nor do they ever play a direct role in the conduct of elections,” read the ECP statement.