By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Promising free and fair elections, Pakistan Election Commission Wednesday rejected an opposition allegation that the political parties close to President Pervez Musharraf will rig the Jan 8 polls.
“These are baseless allegations and I can assure that the elections will be held in a free and fair atmosphere and will be transparent by any standards,” Election Commission Secretary Kanwar M. Dilshad told IANS here.
Former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Benazir Bhutto has expressed the fear that the former ruling party – Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) and other pro-Musharraf parties have plans to rig the elections.
She said thousands of fake ballot papers had been printed and the government had transferred officials on a large scale to rig the polls.
“If any transfers and postings have been done after the announcement of the polls, we request all contestants to bring them to our notice,” Dilshad said.
He said that more than 2,000 international election experts and many Pakistani organizations would monitor the polls.
Dilshad said the Election Commission will use “translucent” ballot boxes that will be sealed in the presence of the representatives of the contestants and monitors.
Still, the poll panel will welcome any complaint and will act immediately, he added.
“Any contestant or party violating the code of conduct can be barred from the elections,” Dilshad said, rejecting the opposition charge of bias towards pro-Musharraf parties.
Bhutto has also demanded “independent Election Commission,” saying that she was confident her party will sweep the polls if the elections were fair.
Bhutto and her arch-rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, have joined hands in demanding measures for holding free and fair polls. Their aides are finalising demands to be placed before Musharraf, who last week took oath as civilian president.
Sharif, who returned to the country Nov 25 after seven years of forced exile in Saudi Arabia, has announced he will boycott the polls if the opposition demands were not met.
His demands include lifting of the emergency rule that Musharraf imposed Nov 3, a neutral Election Commission and level-playing field for all contestants.