Opposition parties reject LG polls results

Rahim says district returning officers and the polling staff were appointed on the recommendation of the PPP

KARACHI:

Opposition parties such as Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Muslim League - Functional (PML-F) and the Mirza group rejected on Saturday the results of the first and second phases of the local government elections and demanded that re-polls be conducted in Sindh.

They were addressing a press conference at the house of former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim. "Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has rigged the elections, therefore we cannot accept the results," said Rahim. Former home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, Murtaza Jatoi of the National Peoples Party (NPP) and Shaharyar Mahar of the PML-F were also present.

Rahim said that the district returning officers and the polling staff were appointed on the recommendation of the PPP, who favoured the ruling party in the upper and lower parts of the province. "In the entire process, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also supported PPP," he said.



Mahar said that they had already registered the complaints with the provincial ECP, pointing out the irregularities in the electoral process. However, he claimed, the officials turned a blind eye to their grievances.

Jatoi of the NPP, who has merged his party with the PML-N, presented the facts and figures about massive rigging in his district, Naushero Feroz.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2015.