1) List of 25-30 suspicious national assembly constituencies is with PTI leadership. Out of which, as a test case, only 4 constituencies were challenged. No one is saying that whole election was rigged (at least no one from PTI top leadership is claiming that). Remember 35 Puncture theory? If proven wrong, why would Imran Khan or anyone resign? Its our legal right to challenge results. Its our legal right to ask for recounting. Its our legal right to ask for verification.
2) CJ, Fakhrudin and others did not fulfill their duties during and after elections. How Imran Khan was going to preempt this?
3) I agree that it is difficult to verify these thumb prints which were taken using low quality ink, on low quality paper. But why Election commission failed to take notice of this problem before elections? Dont you think there is something fishy?
4) If these 4 constituencies are verified and there is no abnormality, there will be no reason for any further agitation.
Purpose of this whole exercise is to secure more free and fair elections in future.
1) Actually it is NOT true. IK has repeated the 35 punctures thing several times himself, so its DEFINITELY not just 4 or 30 constituencies he is talking about. Note that in ANY of the programs after elections, IK's line about elections is: 'We would have won if there was no rigging, people had decided'. Do you REALLY think he's saying so based on 4 constituencies? )
And NO, it is NOT anyone right to demand this or that.
Election petitions go to a tribunal and tribunal examines the cases. FYI, Rigging is reported by POLLING STATIONS, and NOT BY CONSTITUENCIES. EVEN IF ONE PARTY ACCUSES there was rigging on 10 POLLING STATIONS, and ECP thinks those votes combined would not change the result, ECP will reject the petition.
After the tribunals, the decisions can be challenged in HC and SC.
While submitting papers, a candidate subscribes to this procedure and vows to accept the ECP's decision as FINAL.
(BTW, CJ is not Iftikhar Chaudhry now, neither is Fakhru bhai CJP. IF IK is not accepting the decisions of this NEW Election Commissioner and CJP, what WILL he?)
And the 35 puncture theory :D No body has yet theorized whether it was 35 NA seats or provincial assembly ones? IK and Dr Shahid Masood were challenged to 'Shut up or gear up' and they chose to drop the issue since then :)
2: You approve an umpire and then accept his decisions as a gentleman. Why did he approve of ALL of these people before elections? Even during the run to elections, these people were all good and angelic. You will not HEAR A SINGLE COMPLAIN during the WHOLE DAY OF ELECTIONS FROM PTI AGAINST THESE PEOPLE.
Come the results, and they can't make sense of the results and start alleging. Ye to rondi hai.
3: No, I don't. That's the problem with some PTI people. 5-6 months before the elections, ECP CONSIDERED EVMs. (This is a part of the SC's proceedings.) The cost for EVMs was too high and ECP did not have the authority to change the budget of the fiscal year, so they dropped the idea.
Back then, it made a small news. No PTI flinched about it, no hoopla in the media. Come the results and EVERYTHING is fishy :)
Moreover, I have not seen any examples in Indian General Elections, where a thumb verification was carried out using EVMs. So nobody is sure if EVM would be any better.
Plus, even EVMs can be hacked, tampered and manipulated. Who would have stopped IK from accusing and blaming? I mean the way he is zealous about EVMs today, he was once zealous about Fakhru Bhai and the ECP :)
4: Oh really? How would ECP REJECT any petitions, once a precedence is set? How can ECP say that only those 4 constituencies must be verified and the rest of petitioners can be rejected, just because PTI is saying so?
If the purpose is future, why not just press the ECP to buy EVMs for next elections? The purpose IS to cast aspersions on THIS election as well.