Pakistan's opposition party marks 1 year of general elections with protests against alleged poll rigging

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - The main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party organized nationwide protest rallies on Saturday to mark one year since Pakistan's general elections, which the party claimed were rigged.

The PTI, formed by cricketer-turned-politician and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, held rallies across the country to mark the day in protest of alleged rigging in the 2024 general elections.

The major protest was held in the Swabi district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which was attended by the PTI's interim Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, provincial Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and other senior officials.

Addressing the gathering, Gohar Khan said the people's mandate was "ruthlessly stolen" as his party won more than 180 National Assembly seats out of the 266-member lower house, or the National Assembly.

"On Feb. 8, people elected Imran Khan's candidates, but our mandate was stolen despite winning 180 seats," Khan said.

He went on to say that those who "stole" the party mandate plunged the country into political chaos.

Khan warned that their protests will continue until the PTI's mandate is returned and a political solution is found to the current political crisis.

Following the Supreme Court of Pakistan's ruling to ban the "cricket bat," the PTI's long-held party symbol, ahead of the general elections, the party candidates submitted their nomination forms to the electoral authorities as "independent."

Despite the different election symbols, the PTI-backed candidates won nearly 100 seats in the National Assembly.

However, the PTI claims that it won 180 seats in the National Assembly, blaming the Election Commission of Pakistan for changing the results. However, the electoral body rejects the rigging allegations.