UMERKOT: A large number of workers of opposition parties, which were part of the Save Indus River Movement, and members of civil society staged a six-hour sit-in outside the office of District Returning Officer (DRO) on Sunday to protest against “administrative bias and pre-poll rigging” in favour of ruling party.

Lal Malhi, the opposition parties’ joint candidate for NA-213 by-election scheduled for April 17, who led the protest, expressed serious concerns over what he saw as clear “administrative bias and pre-poll rigging” being orchestrated in favour of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

He alleged that local feudal lords and government officials had had a role in the appointment of staff at 115 polling stations, which had compromised integrity of the entire electoral process.

“We demand immediate removal of local polling staff to ensure impartiality in elections. All polling stations must be declared highly sensitive, and Ra­nge­rs and Army personnel should be deployed to prevent rigging,” said Malhi.

He accused the PPP of hypocrisy, recalling that President Zardari himself had approved the controversial canals project that planned to divert Sindh’s water to Cholistan for corporate farming but his party was now protesting in public against it. “Our land and water are being sold off to corporate interests. This election is our chance to resist this economic exploitation,” he said.

He criticised the DRO for ignoring his repeated requests for a fair playing field and claimed that he submitted to him three proposed locations for his April 15 rally, but none was approved. “Even my phone calls to the DRO go unanswered now,” he said.

After hours of agitation, the DRO reportedly gave verbal assurances to Malhi that changes in the polling staff would be made by the night of April 13 and that the permission for April 15 rally would be issued shortly.

The opposition camp is celebrating this as a major political victory. “This is not just an election, this is a movement to save Sindh,” said PTI leader Mehrunnisa Shahani. “We are standing against backdoor deals and the misuse of public institutions.”

PTI Hyderabad division’s leader, Nazish Fatima, said: “No compromise will be made on Thar’s land. Our people’s rights are not for sale.”

Sindh United Party’s Gul Bajir added: “We will not be silenced by feudal pressure or government intimidation. The April 15 rally will go ahead at any cost.”

Grand Democratic Alliance leader Khizer Hayat Mangrio, PTI women wing Sindh president Sarina Adnan, PTI Sindh general secretary Kanwal Ejaz Randhawa, PTI Mirpurkhas president Rubina Mehboob Qaimk­hani, and members of SUP and Ghousia Jamaat also spoke at the gathering.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2025