Farooq Sattar wanted fair elections for all of Karachi. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) request to conduct re-polling in the entire constituency of NA-250 Karachi, Express News reported on Friday.
The commission issued orders to the Chief Secretary Sindh and IG Sindh to ensure proper security on the election day for 43 selected polling stations of the constituency. The ECP also asked for deployment of army personnel inside the polling booths.
MQM leader Farooq Sattar had earlier demanded all polling stations of the NA-250 constituency in Karachi to be re-polled.
Sattar had addressed the media shortly after the ECP confirmed its decision to conduct re-polling at 43 compromised polling stations.
According to Sattar, the remaining 142 polling stations of NA-250 experienced the same disorganisation and chaos the 43 selected stations faced. Ballot boxes did not reach on time and in some cases, they never reached at all.
Farooq further stated it would be unfair to deny the same right to re-poll to all the voters in the constituency.
“It’s not about us, it’s about the disenfranchisement of voters”, he added.
PTI demands
Arif Alvi, candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) asked for re-polling across Karachi, while speaking to the media from the same place.
According to him, polling conducted in the city of Karachi was not free and fair and referred to video evidence of rigging aired on different television channels.
"Our stance is that, free and fair elections are key for the success of Pakistan", he added.
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@Bubli: Really! Defence and Clifton is whole Karachi? get a life and stop crying like a baby and PTIrs sadly very immature in politics!...KARACHI WANT ELECTION IN WHOLE PAKISTAN AFTER CENSUS AND DELIMITATION.
All of the political parties do not raise their voice against PPP or PML N strongholds. JI particularly attempted in various ways to recapture its influence in Karachi since 1985. In other efforts to attract the youths of Pakistan at large, JI launched Pasban, Shabab-e-Milli and then PTI. Finally, PTI seems to work with the Talibans' victims of KPK people. They probably need some shelter from Talibans and they are willing to handover government to their agents.
In contrast, people of Karachi and Hyderabad are determined to face all conservative and their agents (in the face of modern or naya Pakistan) despite continue threats from their partners Talibans. DHA/Clifton moderate and literate people should read JI Chief statement that PTI and JI ideologies are same after the election and at the time of consensus of formulation of coalition government in KPK. Do you want same ideology govern in Karachi? No way, Karachities will not allow this to happen.
Why Eelection commision staff not reach on polling stations on time with ballot papers and boxes, the ECP & Rangers are responsible for this mismanagement.
I Know MQM have a strong vote bank in NA 250 and entire Karachi bcuz MQM work fo peoples of Karachi a lot.
Now I can see the anti MQM elements will join hands however they can not defeat MQM.
@Ajmal Pahari (aka Sita White): There should be re-poll in entire city otherwise people like me would take it as fovoritism.
I simply add: there should be re poll in entire country otherwise pakistanis would take it as favoritism.
PTI could have played its cards more intelligently, something its present (and seemingly permanent) leadership in Karachi appears to be incapable of. Undoubtedly, there needs to be a tangible rival to mqm in Karachi. PTI with its urban, progressive stance a la mqm of the 80s, seemed to offer such a choice. However, instead of making a big thing out of NA 250, they could have accepted their defeat graciously, should have consolidated their position in Karachi and should have then insisted for local elections in Karachi under the new LG ordinance. Instead they have lost the goodwill and are increasingly seem to have been hijacked by Jamat e Islami akin to KPK. Their progressive credentials are hence already eroded. Time still for them to extricate themselves out of a self created mess.
The establishment is trying to prop up PTI as an alternative and/or rival to MQM in Karachi. Thats why undue weightage is being given to PTI not commensurate with its influence in Khi. The khi chapter of this party is trying to stress its urdu speaking character but more and more it is sounding as a reincarnation of the infamous Punjabi Pakhtoon Ittehad.
MQM simply is out of options ..may be face sving is the only way to go for them. The emergence of PTI as the next big thing in Karachi seem to have swept the floor beneath their feet. At least on a more serious note , MQM should real have to rethink their approach toward the people they claim have given them mandate . The fresh wave is all about changing attitudes toward politics of issues and riding the tide of peoples aspirations. Just my two cents..Anybody there....
@True Karachiite: doodh wala......this approach will not help. See what happened in punj-jab.
@Bubli: still having faith in the army....what a joke!
Those who are demanding repolling for Karachi and Hyderabad are actually showing thier prejudice and hatred for the people of these cities.MQM has won every elections in these areas since its inception. It is only this prejudice against people of karachi and hyderabad which keeps them glued to MQM and vote for them over and over. Those people who are demanding polls all over are only interested in exploiting wealth and resources of the cities and not the people themselves. They are jealous of the hard work people of those cities did creating what Karachi is today and want to reap the fruits of success, kicking out the people who build the cities.
PTI is a party of mummy-daddies ,MQM has the mandate of Karachi. I am not MQM supporter , but still I reckon that the people of Karachi support MQM. Not party of a mianwali.
these election results are actually "waqt ki zaroorat" abhi right hand say kam chalana hai... aur is kay baad bahut jald left hand ki zaroorat par jayegi ....agla election would be totally reverse...let see what happen after nato withdrawl from afghanistan.
Delusions of grandeur and PTI go hand in hand. Karachi was never your mandate. Maybe you are second best in Karachi, as of the present elections!
PTI supporters are as delusional as Khan himself when he spoke about making 'tikka boti' of the SHER.
NA 250 can go to either MQM or PTI. But making MQM the target of all your frustration is not right. PTI trollism has given a new warfare of Cyber abuses directly to MQM senior leaders. I am very disheartened by these supporters. This was never done before and was not the practice of any political party supporters before.
@Navaid: People of karachi own Karachi, they should be given rights to chose what is best for them. MQM is past, PTI is future. @Muhammad Awais Memon: There should be re-poll in entire city otherwise people like me would take it as fovoritism.
Let's rename Baluchistan to NA-250 so that media and so called anchors at least give some attention to it.
There should be re-poll in entire NA-250 otherwise people like me would taka it as fovoritism
There should be re-polling in whole NA-250 constituency otherwise i would take it as favoritism
MQM owns Karachi...PERIOD. PTI will soon fade away like yesterday's news, give it a couple of months.
@KHITE: it is against rigging not anti karachi. please correct the facts.
@KHITE: anti khi or anti mqm
@Haqparast: what is the secret of this discipline, we all know
No body thinking about Karachi.
All are trying to damage KHI image ...
Lahore, Peshawar Quetta................ clean ... YYYYYYYYYYY Not repolling in every NA seats ??????????????
Y only KHI...
PTI Cant bare defeat ....
Their Stuborness has snatched defeat from jaws of victory.
CMON KHITES its not matter of Party ... Pls if u owe something KHI than do think that its anti KHI acts played by Media, and other provinces.
MQM will win from NA250 then pti crying for rigging and re-pollinggggg
@kashif: yes re-election in the whole punjab, how about the whole of Pakistan
Please some one show me the piece of paper on which Imran scribbled clean sweep, I just want to see his handwriting.
His first promise was I would never lie. Clean sweep promise to his followers just went the other way.
PTI has taken MQM lightly. None of present parties has organizational strength,experience and discipline to counter any political move of MQM. I know that there was rigging in Karachi's elections but MQM can also counter PTI advances without conducting rigging as it was the first party after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto which install change in Pakistan by giving tickets to lower and middle class, which empower youths,where discipline is at best,which is non corrupt,only its draw back is that its run by dictator and hated by establishment,otherwise no party can challenge it.lastly MQM owns Karachi which sadly IK doesn't
Why PTI is not asking repolling in Punjab....because PMLN is hard to deal with..
@Zahid: change of system is by virtue of F&F elections, election is the BAAP of all political happenings
PTI made similar claim of tsunami sweeping whole of Pakistan uptill 10th of May ...... PTI should now stop crying foul ..... there might have been some rigging or irregularities here n there, but trust me MQM DO HAVE ACTUAL / LEGITIMATE MANDATE IN KARACHI ...
why not election in whole Karachi. we will come to know about mandate. is it?. as claimed by PTI .@True Karachiite:
If all Karachi then All Pakistan .PTIers net brigade must realize that there are worlds beyond their twitters and facebook and where people donot have the facility of WWW. Singling out Karachi simply depicts your hate for us .
These promises were made under the presumption of fair elections genius....
Re-polling in all of Karachi and Hyderabad NA and PS halqas. ARMY to supervise.
Why is MQM so scared of showing their true mandate? Can it not stand up to scrutiny?
@MWK:
Get a life Dude.
@MWK: Did you go through the same web yesterday almost the same time when news of Ch. Nisar loosing in votes recount broke through?? I am sure you didn't or else you wouldn't have said PTI is loser and made joke of your self. Further, PTI have not formed KPK govt. in coalition with any party that ruled in last 5 Years and thats exactly as per what the leadership claimed from day 1.
not only in Karachi but i want same thing in Punjab too
In a press conference yesterday shah mahmood qureshi said "The PTI would have formed government in the centre, had its mandate not been snatched,” then why his party is not demanding re-polling all over Punjab as he demands re polling in karachi.
PTI is a loser party who is crying after the defeat which is evident from their leader's claim that they will Clean Sweep the Elections in the whole country and will not take support / become coallition partner to form Government and happy sitting in Opposition which is not the Case.
They have become coallition partner with other parties to form Govt. in KPK..
I am still waiting that Javed Hashmi resigns from Politics as per his claim that if PML (N) will be able to take one seat from Lahore he will seperate himself from Politics.
and the wait for Abrar-ul-Haq to leave the country continues........
PTI people only claim that they will be honest to people of Pakistan and will not lie..
I am waiting for them to honor their claims....
The presiding officers and returning officers MUST be from the Army. There is too much video evidence that shows how the previous staff allowed ballot stuffing to take place. At many places, the ballot papers were being pre-stamped and then given to voters to be put in the boxes. Who would dare to argue?
Complete polling in one NA constituency makes sense but entire Karachi is of course not possible. Being a Karachite I would be happy if ECP listens to people of Karachi's demand and get repolling done in entire NA 250..
Karachi is 101% with MQM and ONLY NA250 will prove the so called claim of PTI. Then we should talk about the whole karachi. PTI should better talk about pollling in whole Punjab after a historical defeat by PML n
The presiding officers and returning officers MUST be from the Army. There is too much video evidence about how the previous staff allowed ballot stuffing to take place. At many places, the ballot papers were being pre-stamped and then given to voters to be put in the boxes. Who woudl dare to argue?
I think rigging was started way before the election day when ECP took a biased decision of delimitation only in karachi unconstitutional manner (without having a census). Regardless of the fact, the similar kind of applications are still on pending from numerous constituencies around the country.I am not in favor of rigging regardless of any party but my question is, are we in favor of this rigging from ECP ? ECP's slogan was "free and fair elections" , but what they or state did to have to ensure the same, what happened with the security measure to have levy of election campaigns. These conflicts erupts when there are targeted discrimination. Its a human nature to oppose or quit when you are helpless against the biased corrupt system. There is need of addressing the system not the election within that system.
PTI should ask the repolling in the whole Pakistan since there tsunamai no where to be seen. Only NA250 will show how much they have mendate in Karachi and they should not be afraid of to have polling on all the booths of NA250. People will see doodh ka doodh aur pani ka pani
Checkmate !!!
I agreee we want re election with ARMY present why is there no comments by Kiyani on this
PTI will clean sweep Karachi if fair and free elections are held! This is exactly, what MQM is afraid of!! Protests will go on!
All Karachi ~ PTI will get 7-8 seats easily if held free and fair.
let their be re election in whole of Karachi n Hyderabad under the sole supervision of army and media.
We people of karachi demands complete re-polling for all karachi under army supervision