Despite delaying tactics and uncertainty swirling over the holding of the local government elections, the election commission is finally set to hold the polls in 16 districts of Karachi and Hyderabad divisions.
Rejecting yet another letter of the Sindh government to delay the second phase of polls, the election commission has put strict security measures in place for the polls where voting would take place from 8am to 5pm.
There were rumours that the Sindh government delay the elections through the promulgation of an ordinance. The senior PPP leadership however denied reports of any such ordinance and appealed to the people to exercise their right to vote.
“We can’t stop the polls,” Sharjeel Memon said.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari urged people to cast their vote and change the fate of their cities. He said elections had been postponed many times for various reasons which increased the financial burden on candidates.
In seven districts of Karachi division, around 4,990 polling stations have been setup where 8.4 million voters will cast their votes to elect LG representatives. More than 9,058 candidates belonging to different political parties will contest the polls for different positions.
CCTV cameras have been installed at all the polling stations.
Out of the total 4,990 polling stations in the city, around 3,415 have been declared sensitive and 1,496 highly sensitive.
“We have deployed 43,600 cops for election duties,” said Karachi Police chief Jawaid Alam Odho, adding that only 79 polling stations were normal. He mentioned that 500 Rangers personnel will also be deployed at various locations.
Umer Hameed Khan, the secretary of the provincial election commission, said: “The Sindh governor and provincial government have their own authority, but we will follow the law for the betterment of country.”
He said the ECP postponed the polls three times because of resistance by the Sindh government and MQM. “This time we can’t afford to delay the polls,” he said.
Hyderabad division
Close to five million people in Hyderabad division’s nine districts will elect their local government representatives. The Pakistan Peoples Party, the Grand Democratic Alliance and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan appear to be the top contestants. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf may deliver a surprise in terms of electoral gains.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has separated the division’s nine districts into two regions. The Regional Election Commission (REC) Hyderabad consists of Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan and Dadu. Thatta, Sujawal and Badin fall in the jurisdiction of the REC Thatta.
According to the statistics provided by the ECP on Saturday, some 6,652 candidates were contesting for 1,675 seats of chairman/vice chairman of UCs and Union Committees and General Members of Wards in Hyderabad region.
Some 2,477 candidates are contesting for 599 seats in Hyderabad, 1,436 for 390 seats in Dadu, 833 for 211 seats in Jamshoro, 763 for 169 seats in Tando Allahyar, 700 for 185 seats in Matiari and 443 for 126 seats in Tando Muhammad Khan. There are 3.4 million registered voters in the region.
The elections will not take place on 18 seats because of deaths of the candidates.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2023.
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