PPP leads in HMC

Party yet to announce candidates for mayor, deputy mayor

HYDERABAD:

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has secured more than 70 per cent of the reserved seats in Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) after winning 100 seats of chairmen and vice chairmen in the local government elections.

According to the party position on the basis of reserved seats issued by the District Election Commissioner Muhammad Yousif Majeedano, the PPP has bagged 130 out of 179 seats, followed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf with 48 seats.

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan secured only one reserved seat while Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), which always emerged victorious in previous elections from more than half part of Hyderabad, had boycotted the polls. The reserved seats include the seats for women, youth, labour/peasant, non-Muslim, persons with disabilities and transgender.

Among the 130 seats of the PPP, there are 75 reserved seats for women, 13 each for youth, non-Muslim and labourer/peasant, eight for persons with disabilities and as many for the transgender.

Likewise, 30 seats of women, four each of youth, non-Muslims and labourer/peasant, and three each of persons with disabilities and as many for the transgender.

These seats are further divided in the HMC and its nine town municipal corporations (TMCs).

After addition of the reserved seats the total number of the elected and reserved seats members in the HMC has increased from 160 to 241. Similarly, the six TMCs with 18 elected seats of chairmen and vice chairmen will now have 29 seats in each TMC. The TMCs with 19, 17 and 16 elected seats will have 30, 28 and 26 members, respectively.

A seat of trangender remained vacant in HMC, TMCs Nerunkot, Paretabad, Tando Jam, Sachal Sarmast, Shah Latifabad, Hussainabad and Qasimabad. In TMC Tando Fazal, a reserved seat for women and one for transgender are still vacant. The PPP won a majority in seven TMCs, sweeping Qasimabad and Hyderabad talukas, while two TMCs went to the PTI, one each in City and Latifabad talukas.

Although, the groundwork for electing mayor and deputy mayor of HMC and chairmen of the nine TMCs has been completed, the PPP has still not declared its candidates for the mayor and deputy mayor.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2023.