Opposition parties reject voters’ verification without army

JI plans protest outside election commission’s office on Friday.

KARACHI: Opposition parties in Sindh have rejected the ongoing voter verification process in Karachi given the absence of the army and FC personnel.

Leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Sunni Tehreek and Jamiat-i-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) demanded the election commission “suspend” the process till the army comes in for “assistance and help”. At a meeting with the provincial election commissioner, Mehbood Anwar, on Wednesday they threatened to stage a sit-in in front of the election commission and boycott the upcoming polls if the Supreme Court orders are not implemented.

“The apex court verdict clearly said that door-to-door verification of electoral rolls will be done with the help of the armed forces,” said PML-N’s Irfanullah Marwat, who was one of the petitioners in voters’ verification case.

Marwat told The Express Tribune that the provincial election commissioner accepted their grievances and assured them that their complaint will be conveyed to the chief election commissioner.

“Political activists of a certain party are working in the field, filling out verification forms with pencils. Later, they go their sector offices, fill the original forms and submit them to the relevant election commission offices.” Marwat believed the Supreme Court’s orders are being defied by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and its coalition partner, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).



“This exercise will be futile without the support of the armed forces,” he said. “We will boycott the upcoming elections because a majority of the votes are bogus.”

JI Amir Muhammad Hussain Mehanti said they have also submitted an application to suspend the present voters’ verification process. The role of the armed forces should not be confined to patrolling the areas, but they should go door-to-door with the enumerators, he said. “Voters’ verification has been hijacked by the activists of the same party.” The JI plans to hold a demonstration in front of the provincial election commission office on Friday.

Muhammad Hafeezuddin, of PTI, told The Express Tribune that the provincial election commissioner was giving an impression that he was helpless. The party will file a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court because the election commission was defying its orders.

JUI-F’s Qari Usman agreed. He believed that the entire verification process was being monitored by the Governor House. “Why is the governor getting a briefing from the election commission and supervising the verification process?” he asked.

For his part, provincial election commissioner Mehboob Anwar said that he had noted all the concerns expressed by the leaders of the political parties and would convey their message to the higher authorities.

Meanwhile, MQM’s Raza Haroon claimed that he had no idea whether any political party has lodged complaints against the ongoing verification process, or if anyone has blamed the party. MQM’s Wasim Aftab claimed that these allegations were not new. Those who are speaking against Muttahida are afraid of its genuine mandate in the city, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2013.