HYDERABAD: Tampering with UC’s election results flayed
Bureau Report
HYDERABAD, Nov 20: About two dozen Nazims and Naib Nazims of the Sanghar district on Wednesday staged a demonstration outside the local press club.
They were protesting against the tampering with the result of elections of the Nazim and the Naib Nazim of the union council No3, Shahdadpur, which were held on May 31, 2001.
The protesters raised slogans against the authorities for tampering the results after 18 months.
Later, speaking at a news conference at the press club the elected Nazim of the union council, Mohammad Ali Shaikh and the Naib Nazim, Anwar Ali Qureshi, belonging to the Awam Dost Panel — said that according to official results declared on the date of elections, they had received 4,098 votes.
Their rivals, they said, who belonged to the Faqir Dost Panel — Ghulam Dastagir Qureshi and Rana Pervez — had received only 2,594 votes, adding that they had won the election by a margin of 1,504 votes.
A notification to this effect had been issued after the Election Commission of Pakistan had declared them successful.
They said after the elections the entire election material was kept at the sub-treasury office in the strong room of the Mukhtiarkar of Shahdadpur.
The candidates of Faqir Dost Panel had filed an election petition before the election tribunal, raising many objections, but later they had withdrawn other objections and had called for recounting of votes.
They accused the Mukhtiarkar, Shahdadpur, and election officer Sanghar of violating the ballot’s sanctity and appealed to the President, the Sindh governor and the chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau to order an inquiry in this regard through a high court judge or an impartial organisation.
The Mukhtiarkar, they said, had issued a notice for recounting of votes, but the recounting could not be held on Nov 7 because the learned judge of election tribunal was on leave.
The election tribunal, Sanghar, at Nawabshah had appointed two advocates for recounting of votes on Nov 18, they said.
They said that in the recounting, Faqir dost Panel had received 3,547 votes and the candidates belonging to the Awam Dost Panel had received 3,129 votes.
They said that the advocates had accordingly sent the report to the election tribunal after recounting of the votes.
Others, who were present on the occasion, included the taluka Nazim, Shahdadpur, Israr Ahmed Magsi, and the taluka Nazim, Tando Adam, Lala Mohammad Ayub.
