Turning defeat into victory?: ‘This is a day to celebrate for PTI workers’
Imran Ismail congratulates Kanwar Naveed on his win.
PHOTO: INP
KARACHI:
This is a day to celebrate for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers, declared party leader Imran Ismail. “This is a victory because the NA-246 by-elections are the first time that people have realised the worth of their votes and given healthy competition in a constituency where elections used to be won by sitting at home.”
Speaking about Thursday’s polls at a press conference held at the main PTI office in Karachi on Friday, the runner-up also extended his congratulations to Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Kanwar Naveed, who won the seat by a wide margin. He also thanked the residents of the constituency for their support.
He claimed that the party had set a new record by stopping rigging on the day of the polls, adding that there was mismanagement in four or five polling stations. Referring to four presiding officers who were caught stamping on the MQM’s symbol on the ballot papers, he said that neutral government employees called in from other cities should act as presiding officers.
Ismail also lamented the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of the violence that put around 35 PTI workers at risk in Karimabad. “I appeal to the government and the ECP to take strict action against those responsible.”
For Ismail, his party’s weakness was that their camps were not as populated as those of other parties.
Meanwhile, PTI Karachi chapter president Ali Zaidi thanked the security agencies for maintaining law and order, as well as the PTI activists who were part of the campaign for their diligent work. “A good precedent has been set,” he noted.
Denouncing the violence by MQM workers in Karimabad, he said, “They accuse us of being a disorganised party but what about them? Our office was damaged and they refused to listen to their own leaders when they tried to intervene.” He asked the MQM to take strict action against those who had taken part in the violence.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2015.
This is a day to celebrate for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers, declared party leader Imran Ismail. “This is a victory because the NA-246 by-elections are the first time that people have realised the worth of their votes and given healthy competition in a constituency where elections used to be won by sitting at home.”
Speaking about Thursday’s polls at a press conference held at the main PTI office in Karachi on Friday, the runner-up also extended his congratulations to Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Kanwar Naveed, who won the seat by a wide margin. He also thanked the residents of the constituency for their support.
He claimed that the party had set a new record by stopping rigging on the day of the polls, adding that there was mismanagement in four or five polling stations. Referring to four presiding officers who were caught stamping on the MQM’s symbol on the ballot papers, he said that neutral government employees called in from other cities should act as presiding officers.
Ismail also lamented the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of the violence that put around 35 PTI workers at risk in Karimabad. “I appeal to the government and the ECP to take strict action against those responsible.”
For Ismail, his party’s weakness was that their camps were not as populated as those of other parties.
Meanwhile, PTI Karachi chapter president Ali Zaidi thanked the security agencies for maintaining law and order, as well as the PTI activists who were part of the campaign for their diligent work. “A good precedent has been set,” he noted.
Denouncing the violence by MQM workers in Karimabad, he said, “They accuse us of being a disorganised party but what about them? Our office was damaged and they refused to listen to their own leaders when they tried to intervene.” He asked the MQM to take strict action against those who had taken part in the violence.
Congratulating the MQM on its victory, Zaidi added that the beauty of democracy lay in free and fair elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2015.