The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has ruled out the possibility of boycotting the coming local bodies election in protest against alleged pre-polls rigging.
Speaking at a news conference here at Pakistan Peoples' Party media office, ARD Chairman and PPP Vice-Chairman Amin Fahim said, The option of boycott is not on the all parties conference agenda."
He said that President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have talked of transparent election. However, pre-poll rigging was the order of the day, "but in a transparent manner".
Distributing copies of documents to substantiate his claim that pre-poll rigging was under way across the country, Amin asked whether there was any need to do the exercise when glaring instances of rigging were before the nation.
"It appears to be flashback of Shaukat Aziz's election to National Assembly and 2002 election, and a strategy for the 2007 election," he charged.
When asked, what course of action APC could take to ensure rigging- and other irregularities-free electoral process, he said that the opposition would not resort to violence; it could expose the rulers and go to the masses on credibility of election. He said that the district co-ordination officers, district police officers and even the top provincial leadership were engaged in massive misuse of the state authority in support of their favourites.
In this connection, he cited several instances such as an FIR against his brother Rafiquzzaman (ex-district nazim) on charge of raising pro-PPP slogans.
"The Awam Dost candidates for the slot of nazim, naib nazim and for lower cadres are being threatened of dire consequences even by Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim. He even rang up one of the patwaris to withdraw his relative from vying for the polls," Amin said.
The PPP leader said that many candidates of his party were recovered from police stations detained only to pressure them for either changing loyalties or withdrawing in favour of the ruling party candidates.
The government and the police interference was so intense that many candidates did not dare to lodge FIR against the pro-government rivals, he said.
He referred to a federal minister (Liaquat Jatoi), alleging that he was crossing all limits to get his son elected as nazim in the election.
In reply to a question, he said that there had been allegations against all sitting governments of trying to win support for their candidates, but never in the past "such naked pre-poll rigging was done".
"The Election Commission should exercise whatever power it has to stop the shameful practice to give some credibility to the exercise," he added.
Giving account of rigging, he charged that a comprehensive strategy had been devised from union council to union council to forcibly get maximum number of opposition candidates withdrawn from the polls.
PPP MNA and the party's media centre in-charge Nazir Dhoki alleged that the offices of DCOs and the police stations had been turned into ruling party's election offices.
They demanded of the Election Commission to assert its position and get implemented the code of conduct. They wanted to know what action the Commission had taken about reports that some areas in NWFP had forced their women not to take part in the electoral process.
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