• Official results show party’s victory with 94 seats, followed closely by JI with 86
• Accusations fly as delayed results overshadow peaceful polling

KARACHI: The results of local bodies polls in Karachi and Hyderabad that came out after a delay of almost 29 hours, surprised many on Monday as Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged victorious from both cities.

While the party more or less swept polls in Hyderabad, it was a close contest in Karachi where Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) gave a tough time to PPP that rules Sindh.

Even after the complete results for Karachi were announced, question marks over the post-voting electoral process persisted with contesting parties and candidates casting doubts over delayed results, non-availability of required documents to polling agents and a slow response from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to the complaints.

Official results

According to the results announced by ECP, the PPP secured 94 seats in Karachi, including one elected unopposed. The JI won 86 seats, followed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) with 40 seats.

Pakistan Muslim League-N bagged seven seats, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam three, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) two, Independent candidates three and one seat went to the Muttahida Qa­u­mi Movement-Haqeeqi.

With a total of 246 union councils (UC) in seven Karachi districts, elections were held on 235 on Jan 15. The voting in the 10 remaining constituencies was postponed due to deaths of candidates over the past few months, while in one constituency the PPP’s candidate had returned unopposed.

In Hyderabad, the PPP has won 76 seats, PTI 37, Independents eight, TLP two and JI one, as per the ECP’s data.

The results of 28 seats are awaited.

The total number of seats won by the PPP stood at 107 as the party also got its candidates elected unopposed on 31 seats.

Out of 160 total seats, polling in Hyderabad was held on 123 seats to elect chairmen and vice chairmen. The polling in six UCs was postponed due to the deaths of candidates.

‘Doubts’

The polling in Karachi on Sunday remained peaceful by and large with sporadic reports of violence.

However, suspicions were raised as official results from the ECP, which continued pouring till midnight, came to a sudden stop. It took the commission hours to restart the process.

The situation attracted a strong reaction from the opposition parties who accused the ECP of “conniving with the ruling PPP” to forge results.

“The PPP must accept the people’s mandate and stop engineering the results,” JI Karachi emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said.

“We have won over 100 seats. Last night we were provided forms 11 and 12 of those [100] UCs,” he said, adding that by early morning, the results changed.

The JI lost seats where it had the documented proof of winning, he claimed.

PTI leaders echoed similar accusations and even demanded the resignation of the ECP chief for his “failure” to ensure a free and fair election.

PTI Sindh chapter president Ali Zaidi accused the PPP of “peaceful rigging” and said the party used government resources to rig the results.

“After they [the PPP] failed to rig the voting process due to our vigilant and dedicated team of workers at polling stations, they went for Plan B,” he said.

“They used the government machinery under the ECP nose and ROs [returning officers] started working their job,” he alleged as he rejected the results and vowed to announce a course of action soon.

ECP’s stance

The ECP defended the delay in the announcement of results, saying that local bodies’ polls were “the most complicated” when it comes to compiling results.

Provincial Election Commissioner Sindh Ejaz Anwar Chohan also ruled out any “deliberate move” to delay the process.

“The Election Commission is performing its duty amicably,” he said while talking to reporters at the ECP’s provincial headquarters.

“Around 57 returning officers are performing duties round the clock without a break,” he said, adding that counting votes and compiling results “were two different things”.

“All these tasks are being performed manually. The local bodies’ elections are always different from general polls. One should not compare them,” he added.

However, his arguments failed to ameliorate the contesting parties.

Buoyed by the initial trend in the results, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari claimed majority in Karachi and Hyderabad, even before the complete results were announced.

“According to feedback from our polling agents, the single largest party in Karachi will be PPP IA [Insha Allah],” he tweeted minutes before 1pm when opposition parties were protesting for the release of results.

“Overwhelmed by the support of my city, my birthplace, for choosing PPP for the first time. Together we will build the Karachi we deserve. #KarachiHumSabKa #YeShaherKarachiBhuttoKa.”

The rather “premature” jubilations surprised many, including the experts who keep a keen eye on sifting political sands in the city.

Senior journalist and columnist Mazhar Abbas said the PPP’s win in Karachi was not indicative of a rise in its popularity.

It was an outcome of “managing things well” as a ruling party, Mr Abbas added.

“The PPP, no doubt, always had its strong constituencies in Karachi. Then they further capitalised on it by carving out Keamari district, expanding Malir district coupled with recent development projects and launch of transport service,” said Mr Abbas.

“They planned things well in advance and before any other party and moved in that direction.”

In terms of political gains and popularity, he said, only the JI made strong grounds through its proactive campaign for the rights of Karachi, empowerment of local government and addressing issues at the grassroots level.

“They [the JI] got very good results from that,” said Mr Abbas, as he compared the party’s win to the “setback” suffered by the PTI.

“The PTI never gave importance to Karachi’s politics or local issues,” he said, adding that the former ruling party’s dismal performance did not come as a surprise.

Throughout the campaign for the polls, the voters never found PTI Chairman Imran Khan anywhere, said Mr Abbas.

Mr Khan even cancelled his visits to Karachi twice which were planned when the polls were announced earlier, the veteran journalist added. “Apparently, the party never valued the Karachi local government elections.”

Mohammad Hussain Khan in Hyderabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2023