KARACHI: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s Sindh chapter, maintaining its hostile policy against Pakistan Peoples Party in the province, unlike at the federal level, fully supported Jamaat-i-Islami’s stance of large-scale rigging in the Jan 15 local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.

JUI-F Sindh Emir Maulana Rashid Mahmood Soomro, speaking to a JI delegation, led by its Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, which met him at his residence on Thursday said that the “Sindh JUI-F rejects the election process in the province and the results because the ruling PPP used its influence and state machinery to rig the exercise and win a fake mandate”.

Maulana Soomro also questioned the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the process and said that it failed to stop pre-poll rigging and then to check post-polling process, which was overshadowed by complaints of manipulation allegedly on the part of the ruling PPP.

“How can you expect this [LG] institution to deliver when it will come into being through such a disputed process,” he argued.

“We reject these elections and the results. The Sindh government of the PPP should rethink about its strategy of governance in the province. It can never win the people’s hearts through this fake mandate which it won through manipulation.”

Rashid Soomro rejects results of local govt elections across Sindh

The JI delegation discussed the post-polls scenario, mainly in Karachi, where the JUI-F had won two seats. Hafiz Naeem exchanged his views with Maulana Soomro in the prospects of upcoming mayoral election in the city. The JI leader said that his party had won majority in Karachi which was manipulated by the PPP and now expected the ECP to play its role while hearing complaints of irregularities various union councils of the city.

Earlier addressing a press conference at JI’s city headquarters, Idara Noor-i-Haq, Hafiz Naeem demanded officials of the ECP to be posted as returning officers (ROs) and deputy returning officers (DROs) for the by-election in the UCs. He urged the ECP to stop posting Sindh government employees as ROs and DROs in the by-election to ensure clean and undisputed polling process.

“We, however, welcome the assurance given by the ECP and the chief election commissioner to rectify the results of the local government polls in Karachi as per Form-11 and to take strict action against those ROs and DROs who were involved in changing the results,” he said.

“We are very much hopeful that in the next hearing, on February 2, at the ECP, the JI will retrieve its six seats stolen by the biased ROs and DROs. JI will form the local government in Karachi as it emerged as the single largest party in the mega city both in terms of the number of votes as well as seats. Our party has been striving hard to evolve a consensus among all political quarters for the progress and development of the megalopolis.”

“The ROs, DROs and presiding officers for the 11 UCs, where by-elections are to be held, should be brought in by the ECP either from the Centre or Punjab or the KPK. We also demand deployment of the Pakistan Army and Rangers personnel at the polling stations,” he added.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2023

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