Expressing grave concerns over the “stealing of public mandate” in polls, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday blasted the institutions for “manipulation” of the outcome of election. The JUI-F chief has repeatedly been calling the February 8, 2024, general elections more rigged than that of 2018 in his addresses to public gatherings. Last week, the Fazl-led party observed a wheel-jam strike in Balochistan against alleged rigging in the January 5 by-election for the provincial constituency PB-45 (Quetta-8), in which the PPP’s candidate was declared the winner by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Addressing a press conference in Lahore, the maulana said: “Institutions manipulate election [results] to consolidate their authority, while politicians also make compromises [on their principles] to come to power.” Authoritarian forces continue to grow stronger due to politicians’ weaknesses, the JUI-F leader added. “Any institution that exceeds its Constitutional limits [the boundaries of the roles assigned to them under the Constitution] should review its behaviour.” He added that JUI-F won the by-poll in Balochistan as per the Form-45.