KARACHI, Feb 10: The PPP-Parliamentarians on Saturday accused the Muttahida Qaumi Movement of resorting to widespread rigging and violence, and said it would not accept the result of the by-election for the NA-250 seat.

Speaking at a press conference at the Bilawal House, PPP candidate Nafees Ahmed Siddiqui said he would not accept and receive the result of the by-election as a majority of his polling agents were evicted forcibly from the polling stations and were not allowed to see the counting process. However, he maintained that the party would embark on a course of action after consulting all allied parties and the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, of which he was the consensus candidate.

Mr Siddiqui accused the MQM of resorting to violence during the polling and said the party’s supporters attacked, beat up and fired directly at him and other party workers, including women, at several polling stations.

He said the MQM resorted to violence at all polling stations in the constituency from 11am after sensing its defeat despite bogus voting.

Giving details of the attack at him, the PPPP candidate said he was on a visit to a polling station at Saifia School, New Chali, where he saw dozens of

MQM workers moving outside the polling booths. “I also went to a women’s polling booth and asked a female member of the polling staff to show her authority letter. She showed me the letter but was reluctant to show her identity card and later it transpired that she was a fake polling staff member,” he said, adding: “I tried to lodge a complaint with the presiding officer when I was attacked and manhandled by MQM men. I was also shot at but I managed to evade the bullet.

“Armed men belonging to the MQM forcibly took over the polling station and evicted the station. They also opened indiscriminate fire to harass the voters and the polling agents. Women agents were also beaten up.”

Mr Siddiqui said the presiding officers (POs) at many polling stations did not allow PPP voters to enter the polling station. Only voters belonging to the MQM were allowed to cast their votes, he added.

Other PPPP workers, including MNA Fauzia Wahab and MPA Shama Mithani, also narrated details of what they called “atrocities” on them by armed MQM men. Party leaders Raza Rabbani, Sherry Rehman, Nisar Khuhro and others were also present at the press conference.

Sherry Rehman, information secretary of the PPP, told Dawn that her party had rejected the whole exercise and would not accept the election result. “MQM men gave the deadline of 3pm to our polling agents to vacate the polling stations and afterward terrorists threw them out in most of the areas. We lodged over 40 complaints with the Election Commission regarding rigging, violence and terrorism, but it did not pay any heed to our complaints,” she said.

“In all circumstances, the CEC was notified by fax and telephone. They stopped answering complaints after 11am and sent us faxes at 4.30pm that the PPPP complaints have been forwarded to the appropriate address. A similar reply was received from the IG of Sindh, who said he had more important matters to attend to until 4.30pm,” she stated.

She said that most of the POs were belonging to the MQM or they were held at gunpoint to do rigging. “If the Election Commission wants to show its writ and authority, it should announce re-polling.”