PPP gains majority in most local councils
Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz's Arbab Ghulam Rahim in Tharparkar and the Sindh United Party in Jamshoro managed to protect their bastions in Diplo and Sann towns, respectively, from the PPP's onslaught.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), despite many efforts, failed to make headway in Nawabshah, Tando Allahyar and Hyderabad. The party complained of rigging in the polls.
After the fresh delimitation, the contest was held for three municipal committees (MC), six town committees (TC) and 38 union councils in seven districts of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah divisions. The PPP won unopposed the fourth MC in Mithi, Tharparkar, where all the 15 candidates returned without an electoral challenge.
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People also elected their representatives on some 16 seats, which were mostly wards of the union councils and were vacant due to demise of the candidates.
The PPP bagged 28 wards from 43-ward MC Nawabshah, six wards from 10-ward MC Tandojam in Hyderabad and 13 wards in 23-ward MC Tando Allahyar. The MQM tailed behind in each of the MC by winning 12, three and eight wards, respectively.
The PPP also triumphed in five of the six town committees, including TC Daur in Nawabshah, TCs Manjhand and Jamshoro, and TCs Naukot and Mirwah in Mirpurkhas. However, the party faced defeat in TC Sann in Jamshoro from Sindh United Party of former Sindh Assembly speaker Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah, who is the son of late GM Syed.
The ruling party also swept all the union councils that were up for contest in Tando Allahyar, Jamshoro and Nawabshah, and also secured majority of the UCs in Mirpurkhas and Naushero Feroz. In Tharparkar's Diplo taluka, Arbab Ghulam Rahim's candidates won four UCs while PPP grabbed two UCs in other parts of the district. In Hyderabad, a panel of independent candidates won the only contested UC.
Rigging allegations
While addressing a press conference in Nawabshah on Wednesday, the MQM Rabita Committee leaders alleged that PPP rigged elections in the district.
"Nawabshah was turned into a police state," alleged the committee's members Muhammad Hussain and Aslam Khan, referring to the heavy deployment of police during the polling. "With their [police] help they hijacked the polls," they said. According to them, the party had actually won 16 wards out of 43 wards in MC Nawabshah but the results of four wards were changed, leaving the party with only 12 wards.
The party claimed that fake ballot papers were found in ballot boxes at polling stations of the wards 14, 19, 22 and 24. They lacked signatures of the presiding officers and thumb impressions of the voters.
MQM called for holding fresh elections in wards 19 and 22 and to take action against the presiding officer of ward 14. The PPP won 28 seats in MC Nawabshah and MQM got 12, while the remaining three were secured by the independent candidates, according to unofficial results.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2016.
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