Local Government By-Elections Provoke Jamaat’s Protest Against Alleged Rigging and Accusations of Manipulation by PPP with Administration’s Connivance in Karachi Metropolitan Area on Main Sharea Faisal
JI staged protest against alleged rigged local government elections, claiming manipulated results.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has claimed victory for the eight seats including one won by Liaquatabad Town. The Jamaat-i-Islami party had secured two of those vacancies and voiced their objections to what they describe as a “rigged process”.
Stages sit-in on Sharea Faisal; vows to expand movement until results are corrected.
In contrast, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf did not take an immediate stance following by-elections taking place in Karachi. The party had raised concerns during voting hours about potential election misconduct but remained silent regarding post-results developments as of this report’s publication date.
JI leader Monem Zafar voiced the Jamaat-i-Islami stance, stating that any further distortions in electoral results would not be tolerated and might expand their protest. He accused PPP, ECP Pakistan (Election Commission of Pakistan), law enforcement agencies, including police forces, as culprits behind the unfair election outcomes. He emphasized an allegation that Forms-11 to -13 had been tampered with by corrupt officials in collusion with PPP aftermath changes led to a skewed result favoring their party’s candidate over others based on unjustly increased vote counts for the Jamaat.
Jamat leader accused that previous instances of form manipulation have already tarnished Karachiite faith in electoral integrity, suggesting potential consequences including agitation and legal action. In specific cases like UC 7 Model Town (UC) where PPP’s vote count was marginally improved after alleged tampering postponed the announcement for eight hours. Jamaat highlighted a significant discrep0n between votes received in general elections versus by-elections within Liaquatabad constituency, with over 24 times more validating ballots being cast against their representation when compared to PPP’s count after adjustments from the ECP.
In similar claims of result manipulation during Sharea Faisal and other areas where Jamaat had secured a significant portion of votes which were later changed unfairly in favor of PPP, such tampering by officials is alleged to have significantly impacted voter trust. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf remained silent following the election day results.
Dawn reported on November 16th that these controversial local elections continue with Jamaat’s leader Zafar planning an amplified protest response pending any verification of alleged electoral misconduct and unjust outcomes, underscoring their insistence for fair democratic processes.
Details concerning by-election discrepancies in Liaquatabad Town are brought to light with the Jamaat having received a considerable number of votes which were not reflected accurately as per ECP’s records. An alteration from 3,000 for Jamat and an increase to nearly triple their vote count was observed post-election when PPP results saw significant changes in favor.
