KARACHI: The power struggle convulsing the Muttahida Qaumi Movement notwithstanding, Waseem Akhtar, the party’s candidate for mayorship of Karachi, is set to win the election and rewrite history, officials and the contesting political parties agree.

The elections for the seats of mayor and deputy mayor, as well as chairman and vice chairman, are set to be held on Wednesday.

“More than 2,000 voters will elect mayors, deputy mayors, chairmen and vice chairman for more than 100 municipal bodies of the 20 districts, including five of Karachi, across Sindh,” Tanvir Zaki, the provincial election commissioner, told Dawn.

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday rubbished speculations about cancellation of elections to the top slots, saying that they would be held as per schedule on Wednesday.

A notification issued by the ECP said it had directed the Sindh government to make foolproof arrangements at all polling stations on the polling day in the province.

Officials said there were nine districts where candidates had already won the elections unopposed. They are: Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Jamshoro, Tando Muhammad Khan, Matiari, Sujawal, Thatta and Karachi Central.

Of the remaining 20 districts, ‘partial elections’ are being held on the municipal bodies of Khairpur and Thatta. Officials in the ECP said elections in several municipalities of these districts were not being held because of court proceedings.

On the district municipal corporation of Malir, the chairman had already been elected unopposed.

Tanvir Zaki, the election commissioner, said there were a total of 41 locations where polling stations had been established in the 20 districts.

“Most of the candidates on municipal bodies in Sindh have already returned unopposed,” said the election commissioner.

According to ECP figures, there are four candidates for mayor’s slot in Karachi. They are: MQM’s Waseem Akhtar and PPP-led Karachi Alliance’s Karamullah Waqasi. There are three candidates for the seat of deputy mayor.

Similarly, eight candidates are vying for the slot of chairman in South, West, East and Korangi DMCs while 13 are contesting for the vice chairman’s seats.

Mr Zaki said the election of mayor and deputy mayor for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and chairman and vice chairman of the DMCs would be held separately – the head and the deputy of these municipal bodies. However, on Karachi’s District Council (KDC) and the rest of Sindh, they would be held in pairs – a single vote will go to the head and the deputy.

There are two ‘pairs’ belonging to the PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf as they are contesting against each other for the top slot in KDC.

The ballot paper for mayor and chairman of the DMC in Karachi would be light green, while it would be white for the deputies.

The election for the city’s mayor will be held at the old KMC building. Mobile phones inside the polling station would not be allowed and a voter should bring CNIC and official membership card of the respective municipality.

The district returning officers and presiding officers have been granted magisterial powers. Polling will run from 9am to 5pm. However, voters present in the polling station would be allowed to cast their votes beyond 5pm.

“The deputy commissioners have assured us that they have arranged the required security in and outside the polling stations,” said Mr Zaki, adding that police and Rangers had been entrusted with the task of maintaining peace during the proceedings.

The ECP directed that all executive authorities in the federation and in provinces would neither announce any development scheme nor use of state resources in the local government elections to influence a particular candidate’s votes.

Any government official found misusing his power to influence the election results would be held accountable under the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013.

In Karachi all eyes will be on the MQM and the PPP-led six-party alliance, particularly in the South and West DCs. Other parties of the alliance are: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam-Fazl and Awami National Party (ANP).

The MQM is likely to emerge victorious in the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) elections. The party has nominated Syed Tayyab Hussain for mayor and Sohail Mashhadi for deputy mayor’s slot. PPP has nominated Pasha Qazi and Hasan Ali Jatoi for the contest.

In Mirpurkhas, PPP’s Mir Anwar Talpur and Mir Ahmed Khan Talpur have won unopposed for the district council chairman and vice-chairman slots. The MQM has majority in the municipal committee, which comprises 51 votes.

In District South, the joint opposition parties have fielded Malik Fayyaz of PPP for chairman and PTI’s Mansoor Shaikh for vice chairman against the MQM’s Israd Ali and Parveen Begum. In District West, the MQM has fielded Izharuddin as chairman and Gul Faraz Khan as vice chairman. The opposition alliance’s candidates are: PML-N’s Asif Khan and PTI’s Azizullah Afridi.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2016