Washington on Friday questioned the implementation of “undue restrictions” during Pakistan’s electoral process and voiced concerns regarding accusations of potential vote-rigging.
“We join credible international and local election observers in their assessment that these elections included undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly,” a statement by State Department Matthew Miller read.
This comes as candidates aligned with imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan maintained a lead in election results thus far.
Despite facing a crackdown targeting the party, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was performing better than anticipated.
Geo News revealed that independents, who are more lenient towards Khan, had won 47 of 106 seats for which it had results, noting that a total of 265 seats were up for grabs in yesterday’s election.
Khan stated before that the military is working against his party, as analysts and opponents claim that Sharif is being backed by the military
“I am confident that we will form a government,” a close aide to Sharif, Ishaq Dar, informed GEO TV, adding that the PML-N could partake in a coalition with the support of independents.
However, it was still likely that the next government would be formed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after a period of political negotiations and bargaining.
The government also stated that before the elections yesterday, it stopped mobile phone services as a security measure and then partially initiated them.
Miller said Washington looked forward to “timely, complete results that reflect the will of the Pakistani people,” as he listed U.S. concerns with the process.
“We join credible international and local election observers in their assessment that these elections included undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly,” Miller said in a statement.
We condemn electoral violence, restrictions on the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including attacks on media workers, and restrictions on access to the Internet and telecommunication services, and are concerned about allegations of interference in the electoral process. Claims of interference or fraud should be fully investigated.
However, Miller emphasized that the administration of President Joe Biden was “prepared to work with the next Pakistani government, regardless of political party, to advance our shared interests,” which includes trade, investment, and security cooperation.