Delimitation of constituencies: Concerns should be addressed to court, says Sindh CM

Insists elections will not be postponed even if ECP does not complete task in time.

HYDERABAD:

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said on Sunday that a review petition can be filed in the Supreme Court against its order to delimit constituencies and carry out voter verification in Karachi.

“If anyone has an objection to this process, they can file a review petition,” he said, apparently referring to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the only political party which has publicly objected to redrawing Karachi’s constituencies alone.

A five-member bench of the apex court, led by Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali, had earlier this week ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to redraw constituencies in Karachi. A separate bench also asked the ECP this week for fresh door-to-door voter verification in Karachi with the help of the army and the Frontier Corps.

“I would say that the delimitations carried out during Musharraf’s regime were wrong. The boundaries can be redrawn in the whole province [Sindh] if the ECP or the Supreme Court wants,” said the chief minister at a press conference on Sunday. However, he steered clear of expressing his party’s opinion about the two orders.

He also expressed no knowledge about how much time the delimitation and voter verification will take, saying only the ECP can inform the public about the required time period. Shah, however, warned that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government will not allow postponement of the elections in order to let the ECP complete the task. “The president will dissolve the assemblies on completion of their constitutional term and elections will be called,” he declared.

Karachi violence

Quoting the Supreme Court’s observation in the Karachi violence case, Shah claimed that land acquisition and grabbing are the main reasons behind the law and order situation in Karachi. “The 2001 local government ordinance destroyed the revenue system. It empowered the nazim to influence the executive district officer of revenue,” he explained.

Bilawal in spotlight

Shah said that PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will unveil the party’s election manifesto at his first public address on December 27 in Garhi Khuda Bux, Larkana. The party will observe the fifth death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto on the same occasion. The chief minister avoided disclosing any information about any changes or additions in the party manifesto.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2012.