A few hours before the elections, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has announced a boycott of the second phase of local elections in seven districts of Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad divisions.
The party’s statement came as it demanded fresh delimitation before the local body polls were held, and despite the Sindh government’s announcement of delaying the polls, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) insisted that they 15 January goes on without a hitch.
The second round of local body elections was scheduled to be held on July 24 last year, but the Sindh government canceled the polls citing security and police absence due to floods. Later, the elections scheduled for August 28 and October 23 were also postponed, finally, after much struggle, polling is being held today.
Convenor of MQMP Dr. Khalid Maqbool while holding a press conference along with the senior leadership of the party said that local body elections have already been rigged, accordingly we refuse to recognize these elections.
Dr. Siddiqui further said that the Election Commission was created to conduct elections in a transparent manner. However, the Election Commission has not fulfilled its responsibility regarding its important work. The party protested against this injustice.
“We are fighting for justice till today [January 15]. The provincial government also drew the ECP’s attention to the constituencies,” he said. But, the ECP did not heed all the pleas of the MQM-P, he claimed.
“All the efforts the union made were not for the mayorship but for proper representation of the city,” he asserted. He added that the city will not recognize these elections as “there is no voter list and the delimitations are not properly managed by the ECP”. “
Accordingly, the party is withdrawing from today’s local body elections in protest,” he said, demanding citizens of the metropolis to withdraw their right to vote.
He also said that the ECP did not listen to the concerns of the MQMP. “Therefore, we will not participate in elections that will not lead to democracy and will not reflect the mandate,” he said.
The MQMP leader appealed to the citizens to stay at home and participate in the protest. This is because the results of today’s elections are not reaching the people.
According to the party convener, the real heir to the city “will come back again”. “The MQMP will start its solid and organized work [for the general elections] from January 16,” he added.
