KARACHI: Political parties – including Sindh’s ruling People’s Party – have welcomed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to hold local elections in Karachi and Hyderabad on January 15, 2023.
A day ago, the commission had directed the concerned authorities including the Sindh government, Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police to ensure the conduct of local elections and ensure the presence of adequate number of security personnel for election duty. .
Speaking to journalists in Karachi, People’s Party Sindh President Nisar Ahmad Khoro said that the provincial government is ready to ensure the peaceful conduct of the second phase of local elections.
He claimed that the People’s Party will win in the second phase as well as the party won in the first phase.
He said that the situation after the flood in two divisions has improved a lot due to which the second phase of elections will be held.
The JI also issued a statement welcoming the decision of the ECP. The party’s Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rahman also demanded that the electoral body stop the PPP government from “conspiring against the LG elections”.
He also asked the provincial government to stop its “anti-democratic behavior”, saying that an empowered LG setup was essential to address the pressing issues of Karachi and its people.
Rehman demanded that the ruling party should empower the LG setup in the light of Article 140-A of the Constitution and in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict.
He claimed that MQMP and PPP together deprived LG Setup of its administrative and financial powers. “Once again both parties are supporting a feudal mentality against the people by opposing the LG elections.”
He also claimed that both the parties are afraid of JI’s popularity among the people, so the ministers have adopted undemocratic methods to intimidate the people of Karachi.
The JI chief pointed out that the PPP government claimed to have failed to provide police personnel for election duty in Nazimabad, but provided hundreds of police personnel to crack down on residents of Mujahid Colony in the same locality.
Rehman said government agencies and officials were equally responsible for encroachments across the city, lamenting that only common people were punished and deprived of their homes without compensation or alternative accommodation. is given
Also, in a statement issued by the PTI, Bilal Ghaffar, the party’s Karachi president, appreciated the ECP’s announcement of the date for holding the local body polls.
He hoped that “this time ECPLG will conduct the elections according to the constitution and law”. Ghaffar said people were fed up with the provincial government “using delaying tactics to postpone the second phase of the LG elections”.
Khurram Sher Zaman, leader of PTI’s parliamentary party in the provincial assembly, however, pointed out that only announcing the date of the elections is not enough as it is also important to ensure transparent conduct of the elections.
There is a dire need for LG system based on local body representatives in Karachi. Around the world, LG systems are like the backbone of a strong state.
He claimed that the People’s Party and MQMPP are running away from the local body elections to avoid showing their face to the people, but now the people will hold them accountable.
Apart from this, while addressing the meeting of PSP local body election candidates in Kemari district, Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal also appreciated the decision of ECP.
PSP is fully prepared for the election. Although there are many flaws in the current LG system that should be addressed, we still welcome elections.
Kamal said that the only solution to public problems is devolution of powers and resources to the grassroots level.
He added that PSP has been struggling since day one to devolve power and resources to the grassroots level. We have built Karachi and now we will fix Karachi and Hyderabad again.
Senate Elections
Meanwhile, the PPP and the MQM-P have submitted nomination papers of their respective members for the Senate by-elections to be held next month in the seat of PPP’s Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, until he was elected earlier this month. Did not resign.
Last week, the election body had asked the members of the Sindh Assembly to elect a member of the Senate from the province on the general seat. The by-election will be held on December 8.
Waqar Mehdi’s nomination papers for the Senate by-election were submitted by Khoro, while MQMP’s Muhammad Hussain submitted the nomination papers of the party’s Ahmed Salim Siddiqui, Sabeen Ghori and Tariq Mansoor.
He told reporters on the occasion that the party leadership will announce the ticket of the final candidate after consultation.
