By-poll results: Debate heats up over ‘who owns Karachi’

KARACHI: The by-election result of Malir district has stirred a debate over ‘who owns Karachi’. Allegations and counter-allegations are being swapped.

On the one hand, PPP celebrates its victory by regaining its stronghold, while on the other, its rivals, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), are unwilling to accept the results, accusing the PPP of resorting to ‘pre-planned rigging’ and ‘ballot box stuffing’.



“State machinery was used to harass our voters, who were barred from casting their votes … MQM-Pakistan is being victimised by state operators … Many of our activists were picked up by law-enforcers.  Fear was created in areas dominated by us before the polls,” MQM leader Farooq Sattar said. According to unofficial results, PPP candidate Murtaza Baloch secured 22,187 votes against MQM’s Wasim Ahmed, who bagged 15,553 votes, while PTI’s Nadeem Memon secured just 5,580.

PPP, however, refuted MQM’s allegations and called elections ‘transparent-ever held in Karachi’.

“MQM always (used to) stuff ballot boxes. They are unable to win the polls if transparent elections are held in Karachi,” PPP senator Saeed Ghani said, referring to the past six by-elections in the city where MQM secured 60 percent less votes than the last general election (2013).

“I can cite the example of NA-245 where former MNA Rehan Hashmi had secured 115,776 votes in the 2013 election, but his successor could get only 39,000 votes in April this year,” he said, adding that in the general elections, MQM MPA Arshad Vohra secured 55,804 votes on provincial assembly seat PS-115, but his successor bagged just 11,000 votes in by-poll held in April this year.



“This pattern repeated itself in other by-elections,” he said.

Historically, PS-127 has been won by PPP since 1971.  Hakeem Baloch , Sher Mohammad Baloch  and Abdullah Murad Baloch repeatedly won the elections since 1988.  But MQM gained this constituency in 2004, when PPP MPA Abdullah Murad Baloch was killed.

This seat fell vacant after MQM MPA Ashfaq Mangi defected to Mustafa Kamal’s Pak Sarzameen Party.

According to last general election results, Mangi got 59,811 votes, defeating PPP’s Muhammad Ashraf Samo who had bagged just 15,158 votes. Meanwhile, PTI candidate Syed Azhar received around 13,818 votes.

This time around, PTI candidate got 9,000 votes less than his predecessor in 2013. “They (PPP) have technically rigged (the elections) and used politicized election staff to defeat opponents,” PTI candidate Nadeem Memon said.

Earlier, PPP also swept the local government elections from this constituency by winning District Municipal Corporation (DMC) and district council (comprising 38 sub-urban union councils of Malir and West district).

Meanwhile, Mustafa Kamal said: “MQM has set precedents in rigging elections.  I know because I have been part of this system,” he said.

“I am going door-to-door in Karachi to mobilise people to get rid of MQM and I got a positive response,” he said.

“MQM-Pakistan and MQM-London are … one,” he said, adding that during the by-election, London secretariat appealed to the people to vote for MQM-Pakistan candidate Waseem Ahmed.

“How can you differentiate the two? Quarters concerned should be careful about (trusting) the party led by Farooq Sattar.” Meanwhile, referring to PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto’s tweet, opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izharul Hassan said: “Only MQM owns the city. Those who want to conquer MQM in Karachi live in fool’s paradise.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2016.