HYDERABAD, Aug 27: Leaders of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal have rejected the local body elections and demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan should hold fresh polls. Speaking at a news conference at the press club on Saturday, provincial president of the MMA, Asadullah Bhutto said sanctity of ballot had been violated by the MQM and the PML-Q.

MMA District President Maulana Abdul Waheed, MPA Assembly Abdul Rehman Rajput and Shia Ulema-Council Leader Nizamul Haideri were present on the occasion.

He alleged that polling stations were taken over by the government-backed candidates and their supporters, who made polling staff hostage at gunpoint and stuffed ballot boxes with bogus votes.

He said a large number of MQM leaders were arrested by Rangers in Sukkur and Hyderabad who were carrying lethal weapons but were released later.

The MMA president alleged that Rangers supported the government-backed candidates and registered false cases against the candidates of opposition parties.

He said that proof of rigging in the first phase of the LB polls was the announcement of results after nine days of the polls which had to be announced within two days of election.

The MNA said that voters’ lists were not present at a number of polling stations and thousands of ballot papers were not signed by presiding officers.

He said the Sindh chief minister and MQM’s Farooq Sattar had claimed victory in Hyderabad and Larkana even before start of the polls. Maulana Abdul Waheed said that the MQM had brought 8,000 activists from Karachi to harass voters, exhibit arms and rig the polls.

He said that in charge of the MQM Hyderabad zone Siraj Rajput was arrested by Rangers with a large number of weapons, but was released afterwards on the orders of government. No case was registered against him, he added.

Abdul Rehman Rajput said the actual ratio of polling was only two per cent while the government was declaring it 50 per cent.

He said that at one polling station 1,600 votes were counted from the ballot box where the number of total voters was 800.

Asadullah Bhutto said the Supreme Council of MMA would decide within the next two days to launch a movement against poll rigging.