Re-elections will also be held for the corresponding provincial assembly constituencies PS-112 and PS-113.

The ECP directed that the ballot papers for the National Assembly constituency will be white in colour and those for the two provincial assembly constituencies will be light green in order to avoid confusion with the previous ballots.

The ECP had issued notices to the PTI, MQM, Sindh chief secretary and provincial inspector-general of police over petitions to conduct re-elections in the entire constituency.

Taking up the petitions, the poll body rejected MQM counsel Farough Naseem’s plea that since voter turnout at the rest of the polling stations of the constituency remained very low, re-elections should be held in the entire constituency.

“In our opinion, low turnout is no justification to order re-polling. Thus, we see no reason to interfere with our earlier order,” the ECP said.

The order added that the army should be deployed inside and outside all polling stations on May 19 – the day of the re-polls.

The ECP directed the provincial election commissioner to finalise arrangements for re-polls and sent a copy of its order to the military operations directorate of the army headquarters to ensure adequate security in the area on May 19.

“Army personnel may be deployed inside as well as outside the 43 polling stations of that constituency. Army may also provide support to the provincial administration, Rangers and police for maintenance of law and order in Karachi generally on the day of polls under Article 245 of the Constitution” the said.

The Inter Services Public Relations spokesperson in Karachi also said that Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani assured Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim of full support and security for the areas where the re-elections are being held.

“It is yet to be decided whether the personnel will be patrolling inside the polling stations or outside. We are in the process of finalising this mechanism,” he said.

Following the order, Sindh Election Commissioner S M Tariq Qadri has said all polling staff, including presiding officers, their assistants and polling officers have been reshuffled to ensure free and fair re-elections.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Qadri said the district returning officer and returning officer will not be changed.

“The ballot papers will be distributed under the supervision of the army and we have requested the armed forces, police and Rangers to ensure strict security measures,” he said, adding that it was the prerogative of the provincial home department and police to make a decision regarding the deployment of security forces.

He said one presiding officer will be in charge of a polling station whereas two assistant presiding officers and one polling officer will be deputed at each station. “Around 165 polling staff will be engaged in the re-election process,” he added.

MQM to boycott re-elections

After hours of consultations, MQM has announced it will boycott re-elections at 43 polling stations of the NA-250 constituency.

MQM leader Raza Haroon said at a press conference on Friday that the party will not participate in polls. The decision was taken after a meeting of the MQM Coordination Committee in both London and Karachi.

“The decision of the election commission to hold re-polling at only 43 stations out of 180 is unfair and partial. We will not be part of this injustice,” Haroon declared.

He termed the selective re-polling a conspiracy to snatch its mandate.

“Delimitation in the city was the first conspiracy against us. And now polling on only selected polling stations is another conspiracy.”

“Is Punjab Colony, Doli Ghaat and Qayyumabad not a part of NA-250,” he asked.

Haroon said at many polling stations in these areas, voting was not held while in others, voters were not given enough time to cast their votes.

He added that thousands of MQM voters were frustrated at not being able to cast their votes, and would now be deprived again.

Talking about PTI candidate for NA-250, Dr Arif Alvi, Haroon questioned why the ECP did not take notice of his possessing ballot papers. “A candidate possessing elections material would have been disqualified, but this incident went unnoticed by the ECP. I want to ask why?”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2013.

According to sources familiar with the development, powerful lobbies within the party have started using their influence to replace Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad with a person of their choosing. The strongest names being touted for the slot are Ghous Ali Shah, Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, Imdad Chandio and Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, they added.

“Party leaders are divided on the appointment of the (Sindh] governor. Some suggest this slot be given to a person who can give PPP a tough time in Sindh and organise the party in the province, but a few leaders recommend appointing a non-Sindhi governor who can accommodate all stakeholders amicably,” a senior PML-N leader told The Express Tribune.

“The final decision will be made next week in Lahore,” he said, adding the PML-N would consult all likeminded parties in Sindh, such as PML-Functional, before making a decision.

There are also reports that PML-F is demanding the governorship in Sindh. No senior PML-F leader confirmed the reports.

“Our support is unconditional. We have not demanded anything from PML-N,” said PML-F Sindh chapter secretary general Imtiaz Shaikh.

Meanwhile, PML-N senior leader Siddiqul Farooq said that it would be a prerogative of the new federal government to appoint ‘governors of good repute’. “We will at least appoint those people who do not have a criminal record,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Following widespread protest in favor and against holding the re-election in 43 polling stations of NA-250, the Sindh government has excused itself to hold re-elections scheduled for May 19.  

In a letter written to the election commission late on Wednesday night, the provincial government said given the worsening law and order and tense situation in the constituency, the provincial government cannot facilitate the commission to hold the election.

“Different political parties have diverse version on this issue. We suggest organising an all parties’ conference to evolve the consensus on this issue,” the letter said.

It may be mentioned here that following the report of massive rigging and delay in starting the polls in NA-250, the election commission had announced the re-poll on 43 polling stations.

Jamaat-e-Islami has been demanding re-election in all the constituencies in the city before being joined by the PTI to demand re-polling in Karachi.

Meanwhile, MQM which has been accused in massive rigging has also staged sit in in front of election commission from Tuesday demanding to hold the election in entire NA-250 rather than just 43 polling stations.

Addressing newly elected legislators from Sindh at Bilawal House, the president said that despite massive rigging, the PPP had “accepted the results because the country cannot tolerate more confrontation.”

He called upon the election commission to take notice of rigging allegations and inquired why the commission was silent.

Several party members at the meeting presented the president with evidence of organised rigging at constituencies in Lahore, Rawalpindi, South Punjab, Karachi and Tharparkar.

Sources in the party told The Express Tribune that the meeting provided an opportunity for the president and PPP patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, to seek the opinions of Sindh legislators on a possible alliance with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Sindh.

“Even though the reconciliation policy has not yielded tangible results in our favour, but we want to continue this policy for the sake of our country. We want to form a coalition government in Sindh with our old friends,” said Zardari, while inquiring the opinions of party leaders on the possible arrangement.

Senior leaders including former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Khursheed Shah, Nawab Yousuf Talpur and Raza Rabbani endorsed the president’s idea and gave him the authority to take any decision deemed necessary for the party.

Addressing his party members via video link, Bilawal said that even though anti-democratic forces had created hurdles for the party, they had contested the elections. He said that elections had been rigged under a pre-planned strategy to convert the party into a minority.

Bilawal asked party members to play the role of a strong opposition in the parliament while avoiding “politics of confrontation.” The young leader also indicated that he would look to reshuffle the party cadre from the bottom up in consultation with senior leaders.

Meanwhile, the president directed party members to spend most of their time in their respective constituencies, resolving the problems of the people.

Sources added that the choice of nominating a leader of the opposition in the National Assembly also came under discussion.

Later, while speaking to media, PPP leader Syed Khursheed Shah denied that the party had nominated him as opposition leader in the National Assembly.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as the second largest political force in the city – posing a threat to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which bagged a majority of seats in Karachi.

According to the recent election results, PTI candidates have given a tough time to their opponents in a majority of provincial and National Assembly seats. Even though, not a single PTI candidate has won so far from the city, officials of the election commission admitted that they have clinched the second number in terms of votes cast.

This, in itself, is a significant change from previous elections as the PTI managed to get up to 30,000 votes in Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stronghold Lyari and the MQM’s home constituency Azizabad.

In Azizabad, PTI’s Muhammad Jawed Jeelani secured 20,259 votes against MQM’s Khalid bin Wilayat, who won with 71,318 votes. In Lyari too, PTI candidate Subhab Ali Sahil won 26,348 votes even though the PPP has been sweeping this constituency since it was formed in 1968. PPP’s Shah Jahan Baloch – who was contesting Lyari’s seat from the jail – defeated Sahil with 84,530 votes , the latter’s position was better than  Nabeel Gabool and PPP-Shaheed Bhutto leader Ghinwa Bhutto, who hardly managed 537 votes.

Even on election day, Lyari’s Baloch and Sindhi youth was divided between PPP and PTI camps. Most of them wore shirts and caps inscribed with the portrait of PTI chief Imran Khan and were shouting slogans to bring “change”. Apart from Lyari and Azizabad, the election commission results show that PTI bagged a significant number of votes from Sohrab Goth and SITE areas.

MQM’s Ali Raza Abidi, who was contesting from NA-251 Mehmoodabad and PECHS, won with 81,075 votes, but his PTI rival Raja Azhar Khan contested neck-and-neck and managed 39,766 votes. On the same seat, political stalwarts such as PML-N’s Nehal Hashmi and JI’s Zahid Saeed received 12,657 and 26,403 votes respectively. Even in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, the party gave a tough fight to the MQM as Arsalan Taj Ghuman secured 31,802 votes.

Leaders talk

PTI Karachi chief Dr Arif Alvi, who was contesting on NA-250, felt that if free and fair elections were held, the whole city would have been swept by their party.

“Soon after the election started two to three hours behind schedule, some people started firing in the area harassing the voters,” he recalled. “Later, our agents were kidnapped and a few of them were harassed.”

Most of the PTI candidates were of the view that they had a strong position in their areas and even the MQM – the city’s undisputed party – was not in a position to defeat them.

“We were a hundred per cent sure to win at least 10 national assembly seats from Karachi, but they rigged the elections,” said Dr Alvi.

Meanwhile, MQM deputy convenor Farooq Sattar, who won from NA-249, said that Karachi is still an MQM stronghold and no other party, even PTI, can change that. “The media has started creating hype and those parties which lost the election have started this blame game,” he said.

“The people of Karachi have rejected them through their votes and they should accept their defeat.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2013.

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will form a coalition government in Sindh despite having won a majority in the province. 

The meeting, held at Bilawal House aimed at discussing post-election strategies for the political party, particularly the formation of provincial government. Sources said President Zardari directed the party leaders to approach Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other political forces to form a coalition government.

“It would be a small cabinet as compared to the outgoing government,” revealed one of the meeting participants.

A senior leader confirmed that Owais Muzaffar, Hazar Khan Bijarani and Nisar Ahmad Khuhro were being considered as potential candidates for the post of chief minister. The final decision will be announced soon, he added.

The meeting was attended by party candidates who won provincial seats in the May 11 general elections including Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Faryal Talpur, Khursheed Shah, Owais Muzaffar, and other senior leaders such as Taj Haider and Murad Ali Shah.

KARACHI: Despite suffering a historic defeat at the centre and in three provinces, the PPP has surprised many by retaining its earlier position in Sindh by again winning a simple majority here.

The party has bagged 67 seats in the province, according to unofficial results. It took 68 in the 2008 elections.

Some analysts and politicians expected that the party will lose its mandate in Sindh owing to unpopular policies it pursued during its reign.

Others, however, believe that the PPP’s unwavering position had little to do with policies.

“As the party began to lose its credibility in Sindh, it pursued feudal lords and tribal chiefs,” said Zulfiqar Halepoto, a writer and analyst. “The PPP has not been rescued by its performance, but by the pirs and feudals who have joined it.”

It’s not just the PPP which has retained its traditional seats in the province. The MQM has also maintained its past position in Karachi and Hyderabad. Similarly, anti-PPP forces including the PML-F, National Peoples Party and Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim’s party have picked the same seats in Sanghar, Shikparpur, Tharparkar and Naushero Feroze districts as before.

“Actually, the election has been rigged on a massive scale. From the caretaker government to presiding officers, and from returning officers to district administration – all were working under political influence,” Halepoto said.

The recent election results show that if PPP had not taken shelter in the skirts of feudal lords, many of whom were earlier affiliated with other parties, it would have lost many national and provincial seats in Ghotki, Jacobabad, Sukkur, Kamber Shahdadkot and even Larkana districts, said Halepoto.

Senior journalist Sohail Sangi said that PPP has won because the people of Sindh had no alternative. “The 10 parties’ alliance, which emerged as anti-PPP force, was being indirectly led by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. Therefore the people of Sindh considered it yet another anti-Sindh alliance, and opted to vote for PPP.”

Transparent or not?

According to the election commission, the turnout stood somewhere between 55 and 60 per cent in this election as compared to 40 per cent in 2008, but complaints regarding delays in polling, kidnapping and harassment of polling staff and candidates and snatching of ballot boxes raise many questions over the transparency of elections in Karachi and the rest of Sindh.

Earlier, despite winning a simple majority in Sindh in the elections of 1991, 1997 and 2002, the PPP had not been able to form a government because other parties had struck deals between them, fostering ‘pockets of influence’ and thwarting PPP’s right.

However, as the 18th Amendment stipulates that only the party winning a simple majority can form a provincial government, the PPP will be able to form a government this time round.

A senior PPP leader said that it is not possible for the party to make a government without any coalition. “It is premature to comment on it, but we cannot ignore our former major coalition partner, who has a mandate in urban areas,” he said

It is therefore most likely that MQM and PPP would rejoin the coalition government in Sindh, while PML-F, NPP and other parties sit on opposition benches.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2013.

In NA-250, the Election Commission of Pakistan has said that the process will be started from scratch in those polling stations from which complaints have been received.

One polling station where rigging was blatant was Aisha Bawany Secondary School, where the presiding officer, was watching a woman place stamps on ballot papers and slipping them into the ballot box.

The constituencies falling within district West also remained turbulent throughout Saturday. What began as a smooth start to a seemingly tranquil polling day in NA-242 quickly spiraled into chaos about an hour before noon. A small bomb planted in a bus rocked the area near Shaheen school, a polling station close to Kati Pahari. Polling was immediately suspended in the surrounding polling stations.

Violence was not the only hurdle here: like other parts of the city, voters and polling staff reported blatant hijacking of the election process amid the ECP mismanagement. A group of over 50 young men stormed the Government Boys Primary School, Pirabad, and manhandled the polling staff. While talking to The Express Tribune, Farhat Ali Khan, the presiding officer, said, “They tore half the ballot papers and took away the rest of them.”

More of the same was seen at the Government Degree College in SITE. Unidentified men barged into this polling station and threatened the staff, which scurried off to a separate room some distance away from where the booths had been set up. “They said they would take me to Kati Pahari if I don’t leave the room,” said the rather frightened presiding officer. “Are we here just to count votes as these people do whatever they like?”

Meanwhile, supporters of different political parties had erected barriers along routes which connected Lyari to Kharadar. The area falls in NA-249 – the constituency where a neck-and-neck competition was expected between Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Farooq Sattar and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Abdul Aziz Memon.

The same happened in the heart of Lyari, where PPP’s Shah Jahan Baloch was vying for the same seat as MQM’s Nabeel Gabol. But here, markets were open and people, especially youngsters were dancing to the tune of Balochi and Sindhi songs, shouting support for PPP. The area might have a reputation for violence, but it remained peaceful on polling day.

At the other end of the city, near Landhi, people didn’t even have to make it all the way to the polling station to discover that their right to vote had been snatched. “You guys don’t need to go to the polling stations as your votes have already been cast,” an activist of a political party told a couple just as they were about to head out to vote.

According to Ashraf Samo, PPP candidate, the democratic process was also derailed in Malir. Reports of the hijacking of the election process also surfaced in NA-253. Umair, a 26-year-old man who did not get to cast his vote made an appeal to the authorities to declare the votes in his constituency null and void. “You can rig all you want. Karachi will not take your rubbish this time.”

Situation in the rest of Sindh 

Violence also ensued in parts of Upper Sindh, disrupting the election process here. Some party workers were bringing voters to polling stations in their vehicles. The staff complained about a lack of facilities and load-shedding during the midnight and in the early morning. In Larkana, the police arrested PPP activist Ghulam Rasool at the Baqrani tower polling station, trying to cast fake vote.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

One of the first to gather the media was Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which suffered a major setback when polling failed to start in its strongest seat – NA-250 – until well after noon. PTI Karachi president Dr Arif Alvi, who is contesting from the same constituency, accused the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) of hijacking the elections in Karachi by beating up its polling agents and kicking them out of polling stations.

“The MQM activists were deliberately selected as polling staff so they would not turn up and create a shortage of staff,” he alleged. “Ballot boxes and stamps reached stations after three hours.”

Meanwhile, leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz also held a press conference where Ali Akbar Gujjar, the party’s contestant for PS-119, announced their boycott in the city. “I was illegally picked up by the Rangers,” he claimed.

PPP workers kidnapped

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders also came out against its former allies and accused the MQM of rigging the polls in Karachi. “It was pre-planned conspiracy due to which the election staff could not reach the polling stations on time,” said PPP Sindh general secretary Taj Haider.

Haider pointed out that their election agents were forced to leave certain stations. “The armed wing of a political party occupied most of the polling stations in Clifton, Malir Kharadar, Mithadar and Orangi Town,” he said. Haider did not hesitate to name the party either. “Everyone knows who can rig the polls in Karachi – it’s the MQM.” He clarified that the party will not boycott the polls but demanded a re-election.

Apart from the MQM, he also alleged that some men working for Arbab Ghulam Rahim kidnapped a PPP candidate in Tharparkar.

ANP to mourn for three days

The Awami National Party (ANP) Sindh announced three days of mourning over the death of its activists in the Landhi blast but appealed its activists to remain peaceful. At a press conference in Mardan House, Sindh chief Shahi Syed said that the party will not boycott the elections. “Today, when other parties will be counting their seats and celebrating, the ANP will be counting its martyrs and those who were injured,” he said, adding their activists will be unable to cast their votes when they spend their day in hospitals and graveyards.

JI goes on strike Monday

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) called for a strike on May 13 to protest the extensive rigging across Karachi and Hyderabad. The party also announced it will boycott the elections. “All those forces who helped the MQM take over the polling stations allowed it to trample down the democratic process and dig a grave for Pakistan,” said JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan.

“Rigging is taking place at every polling station in Karachi,” said JI Karachi chief Muhammad Hussain Mahenti, adding that the hijacking began right from the beginning when the election officials and the material failed to arrive. “The presiding officers as well as most of the polling staff were activists of the MQM who were earlier infiltrated by the party in the city government and the water board.” In the evening, a large number of JI activists and leaders held a sit-in outside the election commission’s provincial office, which continued till late evening.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST), Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan also boycotted the elections in Karachi and Hyderabad. The party leaders, at a press conference, said the ECP failed to deliver free and fair elections.

After the unrest in Landhi, which is a stronghold of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement – Haqiqi (MQM-H), the party also decided to boycott the elections and support JI’s strike call. At a press conference in DHA, MQM-H chief Afaq Ahmed said that the MQM did not let our polling agents sit in polling stations held their agents hostage at gunpoint. They also handed out stamped ballot papers to our voters, he said.

MQM denies

With all fingers pointed at the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the party announced its fair share of disappointments with the electoral process and decided to boycott the NA-248 Lyari seat.

At a hurriedly called press conference on Saturday, MQM leader Nabeel Gabol announced he will boycott his constituency, claiming that the Lyari Amn “gangsters” had taken over the polling stations.

“Our polling agenda was kidnapped and the elections commission’s presiding officer was not allowed to sit,” said Gabol. Nearly 65 polling stations in Lyari were hijacked, he added. MQM provincial candidates from PS-108 and PS-109 also boycotted the elections, and said that they would all appeal to the election tribunal on Monday and demand re-polling.

Responding to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf accusations of blatant rigging in NA-250, Gabol insisted the MQM was the worst-affected on Karachi’s most prestigious constituency. “We are the most dominant party there. Those conspirators who delayed ballot boxes to the stations by three hours wanted to hurt MQM voters.”

Earlier, MQM deputy convener Farooq Sattar said that rigging was being conducted at his constituency, NA-249, along with NA-248. “The election commission should look into why the ballot boxes were delayed by over three hours in 75 per cent of the polling stations.” Sattar also demanded a re-polling in NA-250 since voting in several polling stations did not start until 3pm.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

KARACHI: If you have been mugged in the last fortnight or so, it’s not just your money and other valuables that you have lost – it is highly likely you have lost your right to vote also.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has allowed those with expired computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to have their say on May 11, but the hapless victims of street crimes have been left in a quandary. Several of them gathered at the NADRA office two days before the polls to find out if there was some documents that can allow them to vote today.

“Apparently the slip against which the CNIC is issued is admissible on the elections day,” said one of the young men gathered inside the NADRA office off Korangi Road. “Even if it’s not, I am not taking any chances. I cannot let 40 odd million decide the fate of the 200 million, this time around.”

While the NADRA staff at the centre was confident that the token would work at the polling station, the election commission said this is not the case.

The provincial director of the election commission, Najeeb Ahmed, told The Express Tribune that those people who lost their identity cards and have applied for new ones will not be allowed to cast their votes on the token issued by NADRA.

A local election commission official also said that the official policy is that only those with CNICs would be able to vote.

Nevertheless, the Malir district election commissioner, Navid Aziz, said that if the presiding officer has no objection then he may allow the voter to cast their vote on the basis of the slip.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2013.