The review petitions are filed in SC’s Karachi registry against the orders issued on November 26 and 28.
The party had earlier shunned challenging the apex court verdict on the subject and said it will fight it out publicly.
The issue dates back to October 2011 when the SC ordered fresh delimitation while hearing a suo motu case prompted by an exceptionally bloody summer.
The court was told that Karachi’s constituencies, which are 130 in number, suffered from the stranglehold of ethnically divisive groups. Redrawing the boundaries would help rein in ethnic strife and discourage no-go areas.
The MQM has always questioned the legality of the exercise. Party’s Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar, while speaking to media today, said that “delimitation cannot be carried out without first holding a census.” He had earlier said that without fresh census, the exercise was tantamount to “pre-poll rigging.”
Calling the boundary delimitation an illegal and unjust exercise, Sattar said “MQM and its mandate are being pushed against the wall.”
The party has also questioned why delimitation was only limited to Karachi.
Voter verification, delimitation to continue: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, talking to Express News, said that voter verification in Karachi and delimitation of constituencies will continue despite MQM’s review petition.
The Election Commission has also summoned a meeting on January 2 to finalise the security arrangements during general elections. Secretaries of defence ministry, foreign ministry, information ministry and the establishment division will also attend the meeting, along with chief secretaries of all provinces.
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