Hafiz Naeem Rehman, the newly elected member of the Provincial Assembly (PS-129) in Karachi, has made a bold and unconventional decision.
Rehman, who won the controversial national elections on February 8, representing the Jamaat-e-Islami party, has given up his seat, claiming that the election was rigged in his favor against independent candidate Saif Bari, backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Rehman discovered that Bari’s votes were reduced from 31,000 to 11,000 when the records of votes polled at individual polling stations were computed, leading him to conclude that the election was not legitimate.
In a sincere and tough decision, Rehman stated that he would not accept an illegitimate victory and that public opinion should be respected.
As of the filing of this report, the Election Commission of Pakistan has not yet announced who will take over Rehman’s PS-129 seat after his outburst. This decision by Rehman has sparked a wave of discussion and debate among political circles in Pakistan, as it is a rare occurrence for a politician to give up a seat won in an election.
