- Commission issues notice to Shafiullah Jan over public allegations, terming claims ‘baseless’ and ‘misleading’
- Asks Jan to submit evidence within seven days, saying such statements create ‘unnecessary confusion and adversely affect public confidence’ in electoral process
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued a notice to Advisor to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations Shafiullah Jan, seeking an explanation over his public allegations accusing the electoral body of irregularities in last year’s Haripur by-elections.
During a press conference on December 19, Jan blamed the ECP for electoral irregularities and claimed that Form-47 was issued from Islamabad instead of the returning officer’s office.
“This was a singular yet bizarre event in the country’s history, when a Form-47 was issued from Islamabad,” he said, adding that “the ECP didn’t upload all Form-45s from 602 polling stations in the constituency, nor could the PML-N produce all Form-45s from 602 polling stations.”
Sources said the ECP, in its notice, termed the allegations against the commission regarding the conduct of the Haripur by-elections as “baseless,” including claims about the issuance of Form-47 from Islamabad, the non-uploading of Form-45s on its website, and other assertions of irregularities.
They added that the electoral body had reviewed the matter and “is of the considered view that allegations made in the said statement are incorrect, misleading, and not supported by any evidence.”
Sources said such statements, when made publicly without verifiable evidence, create “unnecessary confusion and adversely affect public confidence” in the electoral process.
“It appears to be an attempt to malign the institution,” they added.
Jan has been directed to explain his position regarding the statements he made and to provide “concrete and verifiable” evidence in support of his claims within the next seven days.
Appropriate action, in accordance with the law, will be taken against Jan if he fails to provide evidence within the stipulated time period, sources said.
In November, by-elections were held for six National Assembly and seven provincial assembly seats, in which the PML-N secured almost all the seats except one. However, the opposition party PTI alleged rigging and rejected the results.
For the NA-18 (Haripur) seat, PTI-backed independent candidate Shehrnaz Omar Ayub, wife of former opposition leader Omar Ayub, was defeated by PML-N’s Babar Nawaz.
The seat was vacated by Omar Ayub Khan following his disqualification by the ECP over convictions in various cases.
The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen), an electoral monitoring body, also reported that the by-elections were marred by “recurring violations” of campaigning restrictions and “gaps” in results transparency.
