File photo, courtesy JUIF
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday announced his party will boycott the upcoming by-elections and will stage protests against alleged electoral rigging in various cities of the country from April 25.
“We decided not to recognize the results of the Feb. 8 elections and reject them because this Parliament is less representative of the people and more representative of the establishment,” he said in a video message shared on social media. He said his party would take the nation into confidence over its concerns and unite the public in securing the sanctity of their vote. He said the JUIF would also contact other parties to join it in its protest movement.
Since the Feb. 8 general elections, several parties—notably the JUIF, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Awami National Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami—have alleged rigging during the polls. Apart from the PTI, all the protesting parties have failed to secure any significant representation in Parliament.
“This is our narrative and we have decided to move forward with it,” said Maulana. “We will start this movement, Awami Assembly, from April 25 from Balochistan’s Pishin,” he said, adding similar protests would be staged in Karachi on May 2 and Peshawar on May 9. The JUIF, he said, would decide on a date to protest in Lahore after May 9.
“The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has remained powerless and did not have the permission to compile a single result,” he alleged, adding interference was also underway in matters of the civil bureaucracy. Referring to a letter penned by six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to the Supreme Judicial Council, he said high courts were also raising their voice over alleged interference in their functions.
The JUIF chief said his party would also boycott the upcoming by-elections due for April 21 on national and provincial assembly seats vacated after the Feb. 8 general elections, as it did not expect “fairness” in the polls after the manner in which the previous elections were conducted.