June 16, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1428

THATTA, June 15: Deputy leader of opposition in Sindh Assembly Makhdoom Jamiluzzaman and PPP MPA Sassui Palijo have alleged that under a plan of pre-poll rigging, the names of over five million eligible voters have not been included in electoral lists in Sindh to pave way for the success of the ruling party and its favourite candidates in the next general elections.

Talking to Dawn at Palijo house in Makli on Friday, they said that in the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin districts, the NADRA had issued computerised national identity cards to hundreds of illegal immigrants and subsequently they had been registered as voters to serve the dual agenda of converting indigenous population into a minority and increase the vote bank of a provincial coalition partner.

The People’s Party Parliamentarians leaders said that on the hand, 239,194 voters had been deprived of their right of franchise due to the NADRA's delay in issuance of CNICs in far flung areas of Thatta district.

Giving details, they said, as per electoral register of 2002, the number of voters in six constituencies of Thatta district was 617,194 but the newly prepared list of 2006 had 378,000 names.

In Qambar-Shahdadkot district, names of more than 300,000 voters had not been included in the fresh list and same was the case in Badin, Sanghar, Hyderabad, Larkana and other districts of Sindh, they said.

They said that the under-display voter lists had mostly been kept at the Otaqs (guest houses) of the landlords affiliated with the ruling party. They said that the lists did not contain hundreds of names of eligible voters of opposition parties but they mentioned hundreds of names of ruling party voters twice and thrice.

The PPP leaders said that a short period of three weeks, from June 12 to July 3, given by the Election Commission for inclusion, correction and objection claims about the newly prepared electoral lists was insufficient and a part of the plan.

However, they said that the PPP was not worried over the situation and predicted that it would sweep the general elections ‘if it is held in a transparent and impartial manner.’