Upcoming by-polls: Nominations from MQM flood the election commission’s office

By-elections are scheduled to take place on February 18.

According to Tanveer Zaki, the regional election commissioner who has been appointed as returning officer for the by-polls in Karachi, Tuesday was the last day to submit the nomination forms. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI:
With the by-polls less than a month away, around a dozen candidates of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement submitted their election forms on four provincial assembly seats.

The seats fell vacant following the resignations of four MQM MPAs -Raza Haroon, Abdul Moid Siddiqui, Askari Taqvi and Muhammad Ali Shah - which were submitted on December 1, 2012 over the issue of dual nationality.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Functional has already announced to boycott the elections while the Pakistan Peoples Party has not nominated any candidate against the MQM in Karachi as yet.

Only Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate, Saleem Zia, has filed his nomination paper on PS-113.

According to the election commission officials, Jamal Ahmed, Javeed Shaukat and Syed Absar of the MQM have filed the papers to contest the election from PS-101. Nadeem Hashmi, Sohail Ahmed and Muhammad Sajja Qasir of the same party plan to contest from PS-103.


From PS-15, Taha Asif and Taufeeq Ahmed of the Muttahida have filed the papers. PML-N’s Saleem Zia filed his nomination papers to contest from PS 113 against MQM’s Muhammad Ali Rashid and Jamal Kazmi.



According to Tanveer Zaki, the regional election commissioner who has been appointed as returning officer for the by-polls in Karachi, Tuesday was the last day to submit the nomination forms. “The forms will be scrutinised from January 23 January 26,” Zaki told The Express Tribune.

“Candidates can withdraw their papers by January 31 which means that the final list of the candidates will be published on February 1, before the elections which are set to take place on February 18.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2013.
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