Shibli Faraz, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Pakistan, has praised India for its successful conduct of the Lok Sabha elections and criticised Pakistan’s electoral system.
Speaking in the Senate, Faraz said: “I don’t want to quote the example of our enemy country. Recently, elections were held there (India), and over 800 million people cast their votes. There were thousands and lakhs of polling stations, with some polling stations even established for just one voter in a place. The entire month-long exercise was conducted with the help of EVMs. Was there a single voice claiming that the election was rigged?”
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Faraz's comments came after widespread criticism of Pakistan's own elections held on February 8. The elections were marred by allegations of fraud, particularly against supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The military's preference for Nawaz Sharif over Imran Khan led to accusations of interference and a compromised election process.
Pakistan's National Assembly elections saw a surprising lead for Imran Khan’s PTI party, with 97 seats won by independent candidates allied to the jailed former leader. However, no party secured a majority in the 265-seat assembly.
Subsequently, lawmakers elected Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister, which led to protests from parliamentary allies of Imran Khan, who alleged electoral manipulation.
On the other hand, in India, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party underperformed expectations and failed to secure a majority on its own after it won landslide victories in 2014 and 2019. However, his National Democratic Alliance coalition won enough seats to form the government, with him at the helm. This was the first time the BJP under Modi needed support from its regional allies to form a government after a decade of commanding the majority in Lok Sabha.
Final election results showed Modi’s BJP won 240 seats, well below the 272 needed for a majority. Together, the parties in the NDA coalition secured 293 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament.
