KARACHI: Leaders of almost all major parties contesting the upcoming local government elections in Sindh called on the Election Commissioner on Thursday and, according to them, conveyed to him that the election results would cause serious disturbances in the province if the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was not stopped from its continued attempts to steal the public mandate.

They told a press conference at the EC office after the meeting that they called for intervention by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to rein in the PPP in its pre-poll rigging attempts.

The leaders — former chief ministers Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Liaquat Ali Jatoi, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Ismail Rahu and Ameer Bukhsh Bhutto, former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza, ex-MNA Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Pakistan Mulsim League-Functional (PML-F) parliamentary party leader Nand Kumar, former leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly Shaharyar Mahar, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA Lal Malhi, MPA Hasnain Mirza, National Peoples Party leader Aqib jatoi and others — alleged that the PPP was set to steal the public mandate, and warned that the rigged election would trigger anarchy at a massive level. They said they had also conveyed to the EC that state institutions would be held responsible for such a situation if they did not take pre-emptive measures.

They demanded deployment of troops and paramilitary troops outside and inside all polling stations.

Dr Arbab Rahim alleged that like it did in the previous general elections, the PPP was using the entire state machinery for pre-poll rigging with a view to getting a maximum possible number of its candidates return unopposed. MNA Lali Mal said that a free, fair and transparent election could not be expected considering the illegal activities, harassment and violations of the code of conduct being resorted to by the PPP.

MPA Liaquat Jatoi warned that if army and Rangers personnel were not deployed in and outside the polling stations, the PPP opponents would boycott the LG elections. Hundreds of candidates had already been forced to withdraw in favour of their PPP rivals in the elections, he alleged.

Syed Zafar Ali Shah said that returning officers (ROs) were complying with orders of their respective deputy commissioners, who had got them appointed.

Dr Zulfikar Mirza claimed that the EC was in league with the provincial government and, as such, one could not expect free and fair election to be conducted by it. “We pin our last hope on the institution of the army,” he said.

Ismail Rahu said the PPP government was not behaving like a democratic dispensation but a monarchy.

Amir Bukhsh Bhutto said that the PPP simply could not win the LG election without resorting to rigging. It would not have come to power in Sindh had it not been ruling over the province during the 2013 general elections, he added.

Aqib Jatoi produced some pictures before the media showing some returning officers attending parties hosted by PPP candidates.

Shaharyar Mahar accusing the PPP of employing government resources to run PPP candidates’ electioneering, and urged the EC and other authorities concerned to take notice of the violation of the code of conduct.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2015

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