Senator Azam Khan Swati, a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has demanded on Friday to conduct a forensic audit of Result Transmission System (RTS) failure and allegations against the elections results.
Senator Swati and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry were addressing a press conference in Islamabad. Later on, the senior PTI leader presented a detailed report to PM Khan on the alleged failure of RTS and suggested that PM Khan should suspend National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Usman Mobeen.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentarian Hina Pervaiz Butt has submitted a resolution in the Punjab assembly on August 15 to seek an inquiry into the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s Results Transmission System (RTS) on election night. “The sudden failure of the RTS system is synonymous with rigging,” the resolution states the party’s position on the issue.
PML-N has demanded that a parliamentary commission be created to investigate the failure of the RTS system and other allegations of rigging. The resolution asks that a report be presented with the findings of this investigation within a month.
Moreover, amidst severe allegations of rigging in the General Elections 2018, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on 3rd August directed the Cabinet Division to form an inquiry committee to investigate the causes of alleged failure of the Result transmission System (RTS) during July 25 general elections.
TORs included analysis of original concept and project of RTS and its preparation and finalization by NADRA, analysis of quality of training imparted to various users under the project, fixation of responsibility and to make recommendations for the future course of action.
The controversy got momentum when the political parties alleged on the night of the elections that their political agents were not being given form 45. The ECP, however, rejected the allegations and assured the nation that everything was going according to the rules. The ECP also clarified that the results were being delayed due to the failure of RTS, and not for any other reasons. However, the claims of the ECP become questionable when the NADRA officials said the RTS was working properly without any disruption and it was the ECP which directed the presiding officers not to use the system and reach to the office of the ROs.
