Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday demanded free and fair polls in 2023 and said his call for transparency was directed at all institutions, Aaj News reported.

While addressing the PML-N workers' convention in Rawalpindi, the former CM Punjab felicitated the party candidates who won their seats in the recent cantonment board elections, saying his party’s success was due to the poor performance of the incumbent government.

“The nation has realised what has happened during the last three years,” Shehbaz said, vowing to defeat Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

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“We would bury the PTI for good if the next general elections are held in a transparent manner,” Shehbaz said.

PML-N remained the second-largest party in the Cant elections with 59 seats from across the country, trailing the ruling party (63) by only four seats.

“Our success in the cantonment board elections is not ordinary,” he said, noting that the party had performed even better in Rawalpindi than in Lahore – widely seen as PML-N’s stronghold.

All important leaders of the opposition party barring Vice-President Maryam Nawaz were present in the convention.

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Speaking on the occasion, Khawaja Asif criticised the government for rising inflation and poverty and called on the party leaders to show unity.

He said it was not workers who were responsible for the rift in the party, instead, the tiff involved party leadership.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division) Hammad Azhar strongly reacted to Shehbaz Sharif’s comment, saying PML-N has started crying out for rigging two years before the elections as the defeat was looming.

Taking to Twitter minutes after Shehbaz's speech, Azhar questioned why PML-N was opposing the electronic voting machines (EVMs) if they indeed feared rigging so much.