The United States was concerned over the reports of intimidation and voter suppression in Pakistan elections, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“We’re concerned. And we share our concerns about the — some of the reports that we’ve heard coming out of Pakistan in terms of intimidation, voter suppression, that kind of thing,” he said at a press briefing on Thursday.
Kirby was responding to a query over concerns raised by several US congressmen about the way polls were handled and what the White House believes that the Pakistani elections were not free and fair.
In the recent past, the US administration, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have called for an investigation into allegations of interference or claims.
“And so, we are — we’re watching this very, very closely.
And as I understand it, votes are still being tallied. So, international monitors are still taking a look at — at those tallies. I’m not — I’m not going to get ahead of that process,“ the NSC spokesman added.
Earlier this week, the administration urged Pakistan to respect the will of the election.
Elections were held for 265 seats in the national assembly and a political party needs 134 seats for a simple majority.
Provisional results by the Election Commission of Pakistan showed that independent candidates backed by PTI were leading the race for the National Assembly seats. Despite that, Imran Khan’s party believes polls were rigged and authorities tampered with the results.
But the government has denied such accusations and described the victory of PTI backed independent candidates as proof of electoral transparency.
Moreover, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar also shunned concerns raised by the Western states about polls.
On Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the electoral process in Pakistan was an internal sovereign affair.
