SUKKUR: Workers of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl staged a demonstration on Military Road here on Saturday in protest against widespread ‘rigging’ in election.

JUI-F Sindh general secretary Maulana Rashid Mahmood Soomro and other party leaders said while addressing the protesters that it was not an election, it was rather a selection, hence the party would not accept the results.

They said that the Election Commission of Pakistan had announced arbitrary results in all constituencies, which was tantamount to betrayal of people’s trust and disrespect to their vote.

They said that presiding officers did not issue Form-45 and results were deliberately delayed to make ‘favorable’ candidates successful.

They said that JUI-F’s mandate had been stolen as their polling agents were pushed out of polling stations when they raised objections to rigging. “Our candidate for PS-22 in Sukkur has been deliberately defeated by massive rigging,” they said.

“We reject this highly rigged election and demand higher authorities take immediate notice of the election fraud and announce votes’ recount in all constituencies, including PS-22 so that mounting frustration among public can be allayed,” they said.

They warned that they would expand their protest if the government did not accept their demands.

Other party leaders, Nasir Mahmood Soomro, Maulana Muhammad Saleh Indhar, Mufti Saud Afzal Halejvi, losing party candidate Mir Mubeen Khan Bullo, Ameer Bakhsh aka Mir Mahar and Qari Liaquat Mughal also spoke to the protesters.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2024