Anti-MQM alliance takes over three DMCs

Election results disputed in District West; recounting today


Our Correspondents August 24, 2016
There are a total of 51 union councils in the DMC and the total number of votes stands at 77, but no party contested the election against MQM candidates. PHOTO: NNI

KARACHI: The MQM retained its traditional mandate over the city’s municipal setup as it had initially emerged victorious in four out of six District Municipal Corporations (DMCs) of Karachi in elections held on Wednesday for the positions of chairman and deputy chairman.

There were no elections in Central and Malir DMCs where MQM and Pakistan Peoples Party candidates had already been declared elected unopposed. The electoral college for DMCs consists of vice-chairpersons of the respective union committees and councillors elected on reserved seats of women, minorities, labour and youth.

Controversy in West

However, the results of the election in DMC West were nullified by the returning officer in the evening after the runner-up candidate lodged a complaint of ballot papers having been tampered with.

Earlier in the, day the presiding officer had declared MQM’s Izharuddin as the winner for the post of chairman. He bagged 36 votes while 31 went to the Karachi Ittehad’s joint candidate, Asif Khan. For the vice-chairman’s seat, the presiding officer declared PTI’s Azizullah Afridi, who bagged 44 votes, successful. MQM’s candidate for vice-chairman, Gulfaraz Khattak, secured only 23 votes. District West deputy commissioner Asif Jameel told The Express Tribune that a recounting will take place on Thursday by the returning officer, after which results will be announced.

Khan blamed PTI for the victory of the MQM candidate, labelling them ‘traitors’ for breaching the agreement among the component parties of the Karachi Ittehad and voting for the MQM candidate. Khan mentioned that the night before the election, all the members of the Karachi Ittehad had taken an oath to abide by the agreement. He alleged PTI voters had made some secret arrangement with the MQM, after which the two parties ensured the victory of each other’s chairman and vice-chairman candidates.

East goes to MQM

As expected, the MQM won the mayoral election with a majority of votes in DMC East, defeating the Karachi Ittehad.

The electoral college of DMC East consisted of vice-chairmen of 31 union councils and councillors nominated on reserved seats. According to the election commission’s results, MQM candidates for chairman and vice-chairman, Moid Anwar and Abdul Rauf, secured 28 votes against the opposition candidates Zulfiqar Ali Kaimkhani of PPP and Sartaj of PTI, who only secured 16 votes, of which one was rejected. An election official said the MQM has 28 votes and all its members turned up to cast their votes. Meanwhile, PPP has nine votes, while PML-N and PTI have three votes each and JI has one seat.

Talking to the media, Kaimkhani said they would play a strong opposition role in the DMC.  During the election, strict security measures were taken and the balloting was conducted in the presence of police and Rangers deployed inside and outside the DMC East building.

PPP takes South

The PPP revived its past glory in District South by winning the elections of chairman of the DMC.

The party candidate representing the Karachi Ittehad, Malik Fayyaz, secured 28 votes out of the total 47. The PTI candidate of the same panel, Mansoor Shaikh, won the slot of vice-chairman by securing 26 votes. The polls were held at DJ Science College.

The losing candidate for the post of chairman, Irshad Ali of MQM, only secured 19 votes, whereas PML-N’s Sultan Bahadur, who contested for the seat of vice-chairman, bagged 21 votes.

“Finally, the public representatives have been elected and now their issues will be resolved on a daily basis,” said Shaikh. Fayyaz thanked the voters who stood by him, as well as the two PML-N members who cast their votes in his favour. In District South, the PML-N had five seats and the party was divided in two groups. One group, comprising three members, supported the MQM while the other two voted for the Karachi Ittehad’s candidate. There are a total 47 seats in District South, of which the MQM had 16 seats, along with the support of three PML-N members, the PPP had 22 seats, along with the support of two PML-N members, PTI had three and JI had one.

Korangi

In Korangi, MQM candidates Nayar Raza and Rukunuddin have won the election of chairman and vice-chairman. Though the official result of this constituency, which comprises 37 union committees, have yet to be announced, officials sources confirmed that PML-N candidate Chaudhry Khalid and PTI candidate Taufeeq Ahmed have been defeated at the hands of the MQM, which has a total of 55 seats.

Malir

In Malir, considered as PPP’s stronghold, chairman Jan Mohammad Baloch was elected unopposed, a few days ago. Meanwhile, the party also won the election of vice-chairman on Wednesday, defeating a PML-N candidate. According to the election commission results, out of the total 20 votes, PPP’s candidate for vice-chairman Abdul Khaliq Murwat secured 14 seats against PML-N’s Malik Taj, who only received six votes. In this constituency, PPP, which had 11 votes of its own, enjoyed the support of ANP and JI.  ANP got two seats and JI one from this district. Similarly, MQM, with two seats and JUI-F with one backed the PML-N candidate, whose party itself had three seats in the DMC.

Central

In District Central, MQM has already swept the election unopposed. There are a total of 51 union councils in the DMC and the total number of votes stands at 77, but no party contested the election against MQM candidates.  According to the election commission officials, MQM candidates Rehman Hashmi and Shakir Ali have already been elected un-opposed as chairman and vice-chairman from the DMC.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2016.

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