‘Election rigged in my favour’, Pakistani politician gives up seat 

A Pakistan politician who won a seat in the recent national elections has given it up. Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the vote was rigged in his favour. Rehman of the Jamaat-e-Islami party had been named the victor of the provincial assembly seat PS-129 in the city of Karachi after securing more than 26,000 votes. […]

A Pakistan politician who won a seat in the recent national elections has given it up.

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the vote was rigged in his favour.

Rehman of the Jamaat-e-Islami party had been named the victor of the provincial assembly seat PS-129 in the city of Karachi after securing more than 26,000 votes.

But Rehman said he discovered that votes cast for Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party-backed independent candidate Saif Bari were reduced to 11,000 from 31,000 when records of votes polled at individual polling stations were tabulated.

Khan, a former prime minister of Pakistan, is in jail over corruption and criminal charges after he fell out with the country’s powerful military and his PTI was barred from contesting elections, forcing members to stand as independents.

At a press conference held by his party on Monday, BBC quoted Rehman as saying: “If anyone wants to make us win in an illegitimate manner, we will not be accepting that.

“Public opinion should be respected, let the winner win, let the loser lose, no one should get anything extra.”

He said that while he had received more than 26,000 votes, the independent candidate Saif Bari, backed by the PTI, had received 31,000 votes – but these were presented as 11,000 votes.

Pakistani electoral authorities have denied the allegations.

It is unclear who will take up the PS-129 seat now.