Election for the mayor and deputy mayor of Karachi is scheduled to take place today (Thursday) by show of hands at the Karachi Arts Council.
Elected members of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) City Council will chose between Murtaza Wahab from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman from Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) through open show of hands rather than a secret ballot.
For the position of deputy mayor, Salman Abdullah Murad from the PPP and Saifur Rehman from JI are in the running.
In addition, the battle for the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the nine town municipal corporations will also be held today. The candidates for chairperson and vice-chairperson in 11 towns have already been elected unopposed.
Due to the expected rainfall in Karachi, the Election Commission has designated the Arts Council of Pakistan's auditorium as the polling station instead of the KMC Building. Voters will be required to reach the hall before 10:30 am with their original CNICs. The doors will be closed after 10:30 am and the show of hands process will start.
Media will not be allowed to cover the election process inside the auditorium.
Voters' names will be called in accordance with the Urdu alphabet, and the mayoral election will be conducted first, followed by the deputy mayoral election.
Votes favouring each candidate will be tallied on separate sides, with a record of the count noted in a specific register. The winner will be decided based on the support from those in the hall. Any rioting or obstruction within the polling station will be dealt with strictly. It is also illegal for political parties, candidates, and polling agents to express opinions against the ideology of Pakistan, the judiciary, and the armed forces.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2023.
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