KARACHI: A key member of the ruling coalition government, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged as the largest party in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday as initial results showed it had bagged seven seats in the latest round of by-elections held in the city.
Polling was held on Sunday over eleven seats in Karachi where voting was postponed due to the deaths of candidates. In the by-elections that were held in January this year, the PPP bagged the most number of union committee (UC) seats, 91, while the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party trailed behind after winning elections on 83 seats. Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came in at third place with 43 seats, refusing to accept the results and blamed the PPP— which is the ruling party in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province— for gerrymandering and rigging the polls. The PPP rejected the allegations.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city by population and considered the South Asian country’s economic hub, has been governed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for decades. Despite generating substantial revenue for Pakistan, Karachi faces several issues related to its complex infrastructure, water, sanitation, power outages and waste disposal problems.
However, the MQM’s political influence has waned in recent years after the party split into various factions, following a ban over its self-exiled London-based founder, Altaf Hussain. The Jamaat-e-Islami has also formed its government in the metropolis twice over the decades, the latest in 2002 when the MQM boycotted the elections.
According to the latest results, the PPP has won on seven seats, taking their tally to 98 while the JI has won four more seats, taking its tally to 87. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has won seven in total while the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam has four seats only. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and an independent candidate have bagged one seat each. Results on four seats have been withheld by Pakistan’s election regulator.
Despite the PPP’s majority, it still doesn’t have the required number of 124 seats to have its mayor elected in the city, which means the party would need either the PTI or the JI’s support to elect its candidate to the coveted post.
Speaking to media, JI’s Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman claimed victory over eight UCs.
“The results have been changed to turn Jamaat-e-Islami’s victory,” he told reporters during a news conference. “A seat where the PTI was leading with a margin has been given to the PPP, ” he alleged.
He accused the PPP-led Sindh government of devising “rigging plans,” citing media reports of presiding officers in Karachi’s District West being ordered to cast bogus votes in favor of the ruling party before the polling process kicked off. Rehman threatened to protest if the results are not “corrected” today.
Meanwhile, former Karachi administrator and Sindh government spokesperson, Murtaza Wahab, said Karachi has rejected the politics of hatred and division.
“Thank u my dear #Karachi for rejecting politics of hate, divide & protests and for choosing Bilawal’s narrative of working together in a cohesive manner,” Wahab wrote on Twitter, saying that the PPP will not let the people of Karachi down.
