The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called for the European Union (EU) report on Pakistan’s February 8 general elections to be released to the public.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan emphasized the importance of transparency, stating, “The EU report on the elections should be made public.”
Hasan highlighted the EU delegation’s confirmation of submitting its report to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following their visit before the polls, labeling the report as “very sensitive and important.”
The demand from PTI follows repeated complaints from the party regarding alleged rigging and manipulation of election results in last month’s general elections, with claims that their mandate was “stolen.”
Founder of the former ruling party, Imran Khan, also urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to conduct an audit of the election results before approving any new loans for Islamabad. However, the IMF cited its “narrow mandate on economic issues” and refrained from commenting on domestic political matters.
Notably, after the February 8 polls, EU’s Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Peter Stano, criticized the lack of a level playing field and raised concerns about restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression, along with allegations of interference in the electoral process.
Stano called for a thorough investigation of reported election irregularities and urged authorities to implement recommendations from the Election Expert Mission report.
The concerns over Pakistan’s elections were echoed by the United States and the United Kingdom, both expressing worries about the “restricted” election environment and allegations of irregularities and interference in the polling process.
