Allegations of rigging in the 2024 Pakistani general election

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The 2024 Pakistani general election was marred by allegations of vote rigging and delayed results. These allegations led to widespread protests and unrest across the country.[1] The Military Establishment was accused of rigging in favour of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N)'s leader Nawaz Sharif to keep the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's leader Imran Khan out of the electoral race.[2][3][4][5] Foreign media, observer groups and members of the international community, including the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union, have voiced their concerns about the fairness of the elections.[6][7]

Media outlets around the world denounced the election as "fraudulent"[8] with western media characterizing the election as already decided in favor of the military's preferred candidate Nawaz Sharif.[9]

Vote rigging and irregularities were allegedly to have occurred through the Election Commission of Pakistan’s Form 45s and Form 47s. Many activists and politicians including former Pakistani Prime Ministers, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Imran Khan have alleged that Form 45s carry the actual results while Form 47s were prepared before Form 45s.[10][11]

  1. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah; Baloch, Shah Meer (February 12, 2024). "Protests take place across Pakistan amid election vote-rigging allegations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Hussain, Abid. "Why Nawaz Sharif failed to win Pakistan election despite tacit army support". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference washingtonpost/12feb24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Hussain, Abid. "'Election engineering': Is Pakistan's February vote already rigged?". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  5. ^ "The 'generals' elections' in Pakistan that turned against the military". France 24. 2024-02-09. Archived from the original on 10 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  6. ^ "How Is The World Reacting To Pakistan General Election?: US, UK, Iran, Australia". DAWN.COM. 10 February 2024. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ^ "What the international media had to say about the elections that were everything but predictable". DAWN.COM. 11 February 2024. Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference theintercept/28feb24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Grim, Ryan (11 February 2024). "Pakistan Election: Latest Updates on Imran Khan and PTI's Surge". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Why Forms 45 and 47 are at the heart of Pakistan's election rigging controversy". The Indian Express. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  11. ^ "Form-47 won over Form-45 in Feb 8 polls: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi". Dunya News. 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2024-05-20.