The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday responded to the criticism from contesting parties over the delay in results of the second phase of local government elections in Sindh, saying that “this is a complicated process and it takes time to prepare the result of one union council.”
The explanation was given by Sindh Election Commissioner Ejaz Anwar Chauhan in a press statement this morning.
The local government elections in Karachi, Hyderabad and other parts of Sindh on Jan 15 came under a question mark on Sunday night when contesting parties — primarily the PTI and the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) — alleged that the results of the polls were deliberately being delayed in Karachi.
The PTI openly accused the PPP, provincial administration and the electoral body of wrongdoing, warning that any attempt to “change the results” after voting would lead to a strong reaction.
Jamaat-i-Islami had come up with the same reservations and allegations. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, the party’s Karachi chief, held at a hurriedly called press conference in Karachi on Sunday night and warned of sieging the polling stations where he said results were deliberately being delayed “to manage things”.
In Hyderabad and rural districts of the province, the key contestant Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) — an umbrella of different political parties representing the opposition — rejected the electoral process and demanded “immediate intervention” of the state institutions. It also blamed the ECP for facilitating the ruling PPP in rigging and violation of the code of conduct.
“In Badin, Matiari and Saeedabad, the PPP feudal lords have broken all records of violation and rigging and this is all happening under the administration and the ECP,” said the GDA spokesperson in a statement. “We reject this electoral process and its results. The ECP has failed to execute its primary jobs, which are fair and transparent elections.”
However, the PPP accused the PTI of violating the rules and going beyond all set rules to sabotage the peaceful process, mainly in Karachi.
In its statement today, the ECP said the results were being transferred to the offices of returning officers from all polling stations.
“Each union council (UC) consists of four wards and around 20 polling stations, and the final result of a UC remains incomplete if a result sheet of even one polling station is left,” the ECP said.
The provincial election commissioner informed that each RO had at least five UCs, which “is causing a delay in releasing the poll results”.
Chauhan said the results were being prepared on an excel sheet on computers, reminding critics that there was no result transmission system (RTS) in place during the local government elections.
According to a Dawn report, unofficial results from Hyderabad put the PPP in pole position on the majority of seats. However, there was no official word as to who is leading the polls in Karachi.
All three major political parties — Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and PPP — claimed they were leading the race in Karachi.
JI has won over 100 seats, says party chief
In a press conference on Monday, JI’s Naeemur Rehman claimed that his party had emerged victorious on over 100 seats while there was confusion in the results of nearly 10 to 15 union councils.
“We have evidence that we are heading towards clear victory,” he told reporters in Karachi.
Rehman alleged that the returning officers were “withholding results” and attempts were being made to manoeuvre them.
“I spoke to the authorities yesterday, including ECP officials. The chief minister also called and assured me that this issue will be resolved. However, 18 hours have passed and the results have still not been released,” he said.
The JI chief demanded that ROs “trying to tamper results” must be stopped and demanded the ECP take notice.
“I am not talking on hearsay. My party worked hard [for the elections] and we ran a campaign. We were the only party that wanted elections. We put in the effort and ensured that the elections were held. We praised the ECP when it fulfilled its responsibility. But if you do something wrong, we will expose you as well.”
Rehman also warned the PPP and ECP against depriving people of their rights. “If you want to talk, sit and resolve this matter […] but you must do things with discipline […] we should be given our rights and this matter should be resolved in the next few hours,” he said.
The JI chief added that if the process of counting votes continued on merit, his party would be able to bring its mayor to Karachi.
“But attempts are being made to turn us into a minority. I want to tell the chief election commissioner, Bilawal, CM and election staff to not take measures that force us to stage a protest,” Rehman added.
Polling
On the polling day yesterday, political tension remained high as one of the major parties in Karachi and Hyderabad, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) had boycotted the polls just hours before the polling was scheduled to start.
The polling was held in 16 districts of Sindh — East, West, South, Central, Korangi, Keamari, and Malir of the Karachi division; and Hyderabad, Dadu, Jamshoro, Matiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Badin, Sujawal, and Thatta of the Hyderabad division.
A total of 17,862 candidates took part in the elections, out of which 9,057 were in Karachi, 6,228 in Hyderabad and 2,577 in Thatta district.
Due to the deaths of 23 candidates and the election of seven candidates unopposed in seven Karachi districts, polling was held on 1,200 out of the 1,230 seats of chairman, vice chairman and ward member.
The term of the local governments in Sindh expired on August 30, 2020, and the commission was under a constitutional and legal obligation to hold elections within 120 days after the expiry of the tenure.
The second phase of the local government elections in Sindh was scheduled to take place on July 24, but it was postponed due to unprecedented rains and flooding in the country, particularly in Sindh. The electoral body rescheduled the LG elections for August 28, but they were put off again for the same reason. On Nov 22, the election watchdog announced that the second phase of the polls would be held on Jan 15.
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