Just days after the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) proclaimed its determination not to utilize the RTS for the next general election, the PTI, which had won the 2018 general election, came out with the charge of being “fraudulently deprived” of more than a dozen seats in the house.
“We had 15–20 National Assembly seats stolen from us in a dishonest scheme.” Shibli Faraz, a senator for the PTI, argued that his party had been hurt by the failure of the system rather than helped by it.
Senator Faraz, speaking to Dawn, criticized the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for labelling the PTI a beneficiary of the RTS fiasco. He pointed out that the PML-N had recruited former Nadra chairman Usman Yusuf Mobeen.
Mr. Faraz, who also served as minister for Science and Technology in the previous PTI government, claimed that a clog-free app supported by block-chain technology had been developed under his ministry’s supervision for efficient result transmission, removing the possibility of vote manipulation.
When voters cast votes using electronic voting machines at polling locations, he said, the votes will be recorded quickly.
According to him, the governing coalition opposes using voting machines because it can only win elections by “rigging,” which would be rendered impossible by the system.
When asked about the 2018 RTS debacle, Senator Irfan ul Haq Siddiqui advocated for the creation of a strong parliamentary body to probe the matter. Because the PTI benefited so much from this situation, he argued, it was impossible to conduct a “serious inquiry” under their leadership.
To determine the causes and consequences of the RTS failure, he suggested that the panel interview the current Nadra chairman and other important authorities. He said that the identity of the person or people responsible for overseeing the results should be uncovered as well.
According to the PML-N senator, the probes are essential for holding a fair general election in the future.
