Interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Tuesday that the transparency of elections in Pakistan could be debated, but even if protests do take place, votes will be considered legitimate.

Speaking in an interview with TRT World, Kakar said that the elections would be ‘neutral’ and fair.

“We are entering into the electoral process quite soon and it is accoridng to the law and constitution,” Kakar said.

“Electoral process will be relatively neutral, fair and free and there wouldn’t be any organistaional and institutional involvement,” he added. He added that no political party will be favoured.

However, when asked the elections could be completely fair in the current situation, Kakar said that transparency could have a wide variety of interpretations.

“Whether it will be fair or not, we must remember Pakistan is a transitional democracy,” he said. “As far as transparency is concerned, it can be interpreted and translated with a variety of degrees,” he added.

Asked if protests like May 9 broke out again over the elections, Kakar said that there would be no problem if the protests were peaceful. He added that the protests were a democratic right of every party.

However, answering a question about the legitimacy of elections in the face of protests, Kakar said that if votes are cast within the eight-hour duration, they are legitimate. He added that transparency can be debated.