MQM supporters and workers stage a sit-in outside the Election Commission office in Karachi. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD NOMAN / EXPRESS
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that it would conduct re-polling in 43 polling stations of NA-250 on Sunday (May 19) under the army’s supervision.
The re-poll at the same polling stations for the two provincial assembly seats of Sindh, PS-112 and PS-113 that fall under this constituency will also be held, the ECP said.
Polling at 43 polling stations was suspended after reports of large scale anomalies on May 11.
The commission has decided to change the colour of the ballot papers to be used in Sunday’s re-poll to distinguish them from those polling stations whose ballots were recognised as valid. The commission has decided to use white coloured ballot paper for National Assembly and light green for provincial assembly seats.
MQM’s Khushbakht Shujaat, PTI’s Dr. Arif Alvi and JI’s Naimatullah were the main contestants in this constituency.
PTI had been holding protest demonstrations over hooliganism in the area on the polling day. MQM’s Khushbakht Shujaat also demanded re-polling in a press conference the other day. However she wanted re-polling in the whole constituency.
Imran Khan’s PTI claims that it would have easily won from this constituency and few others in the city had there been fair polls.
The unofficial results show that PTI has already made an entry into the Sindh assembly by winning a provincial assembly and is optimistic of winning a couple of more in Sunday’s re-poll. Expect for Balochistan, the PTI will now have a presence in all assemblies with a likely government in KPK where it emerged as the largest party.
The MQM rejected the election commission’s decision of holding elections in 43 polling stations in NA-250, and has called for re-polling in the entire constituency.
In a press conference held on Tuesday, MQM leader Mustafa Kamal said that they would not accept the election commission’s decision. ‘Elections should be held again in the whole of NA-250. In many areas, polling started at 3 in the afternoon because ballot boxes could not reach on time, but the plight of these stations is being ignored by the election commission.’
He also said that re-polling should be conducted in 180 polling stations of PS 112 and PS 113.
Kamal said that elections were held in the whole country, but only Karachi was targeted and criticized throughout. “Voter verification was only carried out in Karachi,” he said. Meanwhile MQM chief Altaf Hussain has also demanded re-elections in NA-250.
A day earlier, the MQM had criticised the PTI’s street protests, and MQM chief Altaf Hussain made a controversial speech about the protestors, which the MQM had to issue a clarification about. At the press conference however, the MQM announced that it would also start a series of demonstrations.
Following the announcement, a number of MQM supporters from Delhi Colony, Punjab Colony, DHA and Clifton reached the provincial election commission, and demanded for elections to be held in the entire constituency.
Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain is said to be unwell and has been advised bed rest by his doctors due to over-exertion because of his strenuous activities during the election campaign.
Responding to the MQM’s call for re-elections in NA-250, Arif Alvi, while speaking at the PTI protest at Native Jetty, questioned why the MQM doesn’t simply call for elections in all of Karachi.
“Why is the MQM afraid? I’ll tell you what it is afraid of. It knows that the PTI will sweep Karachi if free and fair elections are held,” said Alvi. He said that the victory of the PTI candidate in PS-93 is proof that people voted for the party in their thousands and that if the elections were not rigged, the party would have won all the seats.
The ECP has also ordered the recounting of ballots in NA-154 Lodhran on request of PTI candidate Jahangir Khan Tareen. The commission has ordered recount of all the ballot papers polled on election-day in the constituency.
Meanwhile PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, secretary general Mushahid Hussain Syed, PTI’s Jahangir Tarin and Maulana Attaur Rehman the brother of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman visited the ECP headquarters and filed complaints on alleged rigging in certain constituencies.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2013.
COMMENTS (9)
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@Tanzeel you forgot to count the one more : ETs camera man .
and @ PTIers : Go home .Your demand has been met with .
.
MQM gathered 20K crowd in just 2 hours. On the other hand PTI dharna at natives jetty yesterday had only 50 ppl.
y not whole karachi?
Polling Should be done in Entire NA 250 not selective. Be Fair.
PTI - stop crying and go home.
Why not re-polling in all the constituencies of Karachi under the supervision of the army? Let the public speak their minds with out any fear; any party confident of their abilities and following should accept this demand.
I think that PTI conceding to NA250 only will be a huge disappointment after demanding repolling all over Karachi.!!. I also wonder how will it be done.
What happened to Sec.144 in KHI?? Was that for PTI only?? Woof Woof.
What is the objection to having a re-poll in the entire constituency of NA 250? Can somebody explain