KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday got its first elected Mayor of Karachi, Murtaza Wahab, through a show of hands in the mayoral election held at the Arts Council of Pakistan.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had shifted the venue of the mayoral elections from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) City Council, where such elections are traditionally held, to the auditorium of the Arts Council of Pakistan due to a cyclone warning. was done
ECP Returning Officer Nazr Abbas announced that People’s Party’s Wahab was elected Mayor Karachi while Salman Abdullah was elected Deputy Mayor. Both secured 173 votes while second was Jamaat-e-Islami’s Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman who secured 160 votes. Advocate Saifuddin of Jamaat-e-Islami got 160 votes for deputy mayor.
32 members were absent, out of which 31 were from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and one from Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP). The jailed PTI candidate Firdous Shamim Naqvi who was brought from jail did not vote.
Talking to the media, Naqvi said that he refrained from voting because the presiding officer had told him that if he voted for the KMC City Council, he would lose his provincial assembly seat.
PPP is the largest party in KMC City Council with 155 seats. The party also received the support of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, but their combined strength fell short of a simple majority to elect their mayor.
The second and third largest parties in the city council are Jamaat-e-Islami and PTI, with 130 and 63 seats respectively. As the PTI supported the JI, their combined votes were 193, more than a simple majority in the 367-member House. However, a forward bloc emerged within the PTI, and they abstained from voting, remaining absent during polling. Due to which Jamaat-e-Islami’s Naeem got 160 votes while Wahab won with 173 votes.
According to the entry register, 303 elected members reached the polling station and 33 were absent. Three elected PTI members arrested after the May 9 disaster were brought in an armored vehicle.
The elected mayor did not participate in the municipal elections from any union committee of the city but was elected directly by the votes of the elected chairmen of the union committee. In this regard, an amendment was passed under Section 18 (b) of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, which deals with the appointment of Mayor and Deputy Mayor and Chairman and Vice Chairman. The law states that Metropolitan Corporation, Town Municipal Corporation, Municipal Corporation and Town Committee shall elect any person as Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Chairman and Vice Chairman by show of hands.
However, the section further provides that no person elected as mayor and deputy mayor, chairman and vice-chairman of the council shall continue in the said office unless he has been a member of the respective council for a period of six months. Don’t get selected. To take the oath of office.” This means that Wahab will have to contest elections from any union committee in the city to remain mayor.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi has rejected the results of the mayoral election on the unconstitutional and undemocratic conduct of the Pakistan People’s Party government in Sindh as it rejected 31 elected UC chairmen belonging to the PTI despite the court. Not presented. Orders.
Addressing the media here on Thursday, Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman announced the observance of Black Day across the country today on the appeal of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameer Sirajul Haque.
Rahman said the JI would announce its future course of action today (June 16) after the protest. He said that June 15, 2023 was the worst day in the democratic history of the country. The People’s Party, with the help of the state machinery and the Election Commission of Pakistan, took away the mandate of the people of Karachi and destroyed democracy.
The JI leader said that all 130 UC chairmen from JI participated in the mayoral election, while 31 elected representatives from PTI, including two women who were abducted earlier, participated. , did not appear in the City Council despite court orders.
They demanded the authorities to annul the polling and issue a new schedule for the mayoral polls after ensuring fair elections. He clarified that Pakistan People’s Party has not won but has captured the city council.
He asked the People’s Party not to impose a mayor on the 35 million people of Karachi. He asked the party workers to gear up for a fresh and protracted struggle against fascism and feudalism to restore democracy in its true spirit.
Talking about Thursday’s events, Naeemur Rehman said that the workers of the peaceful Jamaat-e-Islami were attacked by the thugs of the People’s Party under the auspices of the Sindh Police. They were pelted with stones and lathi-charged. He demanded the release of all arrested JI workers.
On the other hand, People’s Party Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has promised the people of Pakistan and Karachi that the development of Karachi apart from Pakistan is now his responsibility, which is related to the development of the entire country. In his video, he expressed his commitment that ‘People’s Party’s vision is that it is its responsibility to take care of the whole of Pakistan and I promise that together with the people we will develop Karachi and the whole of Pakistan. will ensure’. A message was shared on Twitter congratulating the newly elected heads and deputy heads of local bodies from Karachi to Kashmore on this historic achievement.
Former President Asif Ali Zardari while congratulating Murtaza Wahab and Salman Abdullah said that the elected local government representatives belonging to the party should keep the doors of their offices open to the public. He directed the local body representatives of People’s Party to start work from today. He said that People’s Party considers public service as worship.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued by PTI Sindh, the party leaders rejected the alleged rigging in the mayor’s election. He announced that legal action would be taken against those who ignore party instructions. He accused the PPP of using tactics like horse-trading, arrests and threats against PTI members to win the mayoral election. He claimed that the PPP has detained PTI members in a safe house.
In a separate statement, PTI President and Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Shaikh condemned the alleged tampering with democracy in Karachi and Hyderabad. He accused the People’s Party of violating court orders and winning the local elections through hooliganism. He asserted that the people of Karachi are dissatisfied with the performance of the People’s Party.
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Shaikh formed an 11-member investigation committee for non-participation of PTI City Council members in the mayoral election. The notification of the committee was issued by PTI Sindh General Secretary Advocate Ali Pal. The committee has been tasked to submit a report to the PTI provincial chief by 5 pm today (Friday) as to why several PTI members did not participate in the mayoral election.
