QUETTA: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) General Secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri called for a recount of votes in seven polling stations where he alleged that “rigging” took place.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday evening, he claimed that the results have been “rigged” in three provincial and one National Assembly constituency of Kalat.

“We have protested against this. Though I won the seat, we demand that polling be conducted again at seven stations,” Mr Haideri said.

He highlighted that Nurmak and Johan Lehri are tribal areas where JUI-F had 10,000 votes. In the name of security and other reasons, polling equipment has disappeared and been tampered with, he added.

“We will go to the ECP, court, and the public against it. Our protest will be democratic and peaceful, causing no harm to the people. We are protesting in front of the offices of the district returning officer and returning officer.”

He mentioned that with the recent extensive rigging in elections, people seem to have forgotten the rigging in the 2018 elections. This time, someone else is winning in the morning, and someone else is winning in the evening, he said, adding that elections have turned into a joke in Balochistan.

In response to a question, he stated that every party fights in elections to come into the government and serve the people, but each party has its conditions and rules for being part of the government.

The JUI-F Council meeting is scheduled for Feb 14, during which the decision will be made to either sit in the government or on the opposition benches, he said.

Mufti Rozi Khan, Mir Saeed Langove, Hafiz Khalil Ahmed, Mir Hashmat Lehri, and others were also present on this occasion.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2024