Pak poll body demands signed apology from Imran Khan: Reports

Pakistan’s election commission on Thursday demanded a signed apology from Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan for violating the electoral code of conduct while casting his vote in the general election on July 25, according to media reports.

A four-member bench headed by the chief election commissioner Muhammad Raza Khan heard the case against Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took notice of the photos of him stamping the ballot paper in full public glare in the NA-53 Islamabad constituency.

Khan’s counsel Babar Awan, who appeared before the ECP, submitted a written reply stating that his client did not intentionally stamp his ballot publicly, Geo News reported.

According to the reply, photos of Khan’s ballot were taken without his permission. The curtain, used around the ballot for secrecy, had fallen due to the crowd inside the polling booth, it said.

“The divider (at the booth) was removed due to rush,” Awan told the Bench. When Khan asked staff for instructions, he was told how to cast his vote, he was quoted as saying by The News. Awan also sought an end to the case and requested the ECP to issue the notification for Khan’s victory from NA-53 Islamabad constituency.

The ECP, however, dismissed the reply submitted by Awan and demanded an affidavit from Khan apologising for the controversial vote casting complete with his signature.

The commission then adjourned the hearing till on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the ECP on Thursday accepted the apologies tendered by Khan, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman for using indecent language during their election campaigns.