Imran Khan demands Suspension of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan Monday demanded suspension of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq till investigation is completed into the alleged rigging in the National Assembly constituency-122 in the 2013 general elections. During a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (Retd.) Sardar Mohammad Raza, Imran Khan said his party has also requested the CEC to form two task force groups to look into giving overseas Pakistanis a right to vote as well as the possibility to introduce an electronic voting system for next general elections, Dawn reported.

The meeting took place two days after an election tribunal in Lahore turned down Imran Khan’s plea for action against an inquiry commission that inspected the record of election in the NA-122. Imran Khan, who is chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), has alleged that the election tribunal commission did not follow its terms of reference. The PTI chief had sought re-inspection of the records of certain polling stations in the constituency.

Disposing of the application, tribunal member Kazim Ali Malik said that at this stage it was premature for the PTI leader to seek re-inspection. The tribunal has set Feb 7 as the next date for hearing. Retired sessions judge Ghulam Hussain Awan was appointed by the tribunal to inspect the records. The result of the election remained unchanged after the process. After an audit of a number of polling stations in NA-122 constituency, both the ruling PML-N and the PTI have been making contradictory claims. (IANS)