Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, a senior Pakistani politician who won provincial elections in the commercial hub of Karachi on 8 February when the country went to the polls, has given up his seat, saying the vote was rigged in his favor.
Rehman who vied using the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami Party, was declared winner of provincial seat 129 in Karachi after securing more than 26,000 votes.
But Rehman says he discovered that votes cast for his closest competitor, Independent candidate Saif Bari, had been reduced to 11,000 from 31,000 when records of votes polled at individual polling stations were tabulated.
“Public opinion should be respected, let the winner win, let the loser lose, no one should get anything extra. I will not accept a stolen win, the winner should be given the victory,” the politician has told local media.
Pakistan voted in national and provincial elections on 8 February, but the polls were marred by accusations of rigging to defeat independent candidates backed by jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan.
