KARACHI: There seems to be no clear winner in Karachi by-polls despite the fact that the ruling party in Sindh, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) secures highest number of UCs.
The PPP emerged as the leading party with 98 Union Councils (UCs) seats after securing seven seats out of 11 Union Councils in Karachi during the local government (LG) by-polls held on Sunday.
However, no party in Karachi was able to get a simple majority in Sindh LG polls by-elections, as per the details gathered by MM News.
The results of Karachi’s 240 UCs out of a total of 246 have been finalized, while the results of six UCs have been withheld by the Election Commission of Pakistan, according to the party position released by the ECP.
While the PPP became the largest party with 98 UCs, Jamaat-e-Islami secured 87 seats, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf remained third with 43 seats in UCs. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz grabbed seven seats, JUI-F won three seats in UCs, TLP and an independent candidate emerged victorious in two UCs only. However, no party in Karachi has grabbed a simple majority, and an ally will be required to bring the mayor in the metropolitan.
Sindh minister Saeed Ghani has predicted that the Mayor of Karachi will be from his party, the PPP. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has claimed election rigging in the by-polls. “Election rigging also has limits. The police, along with a political party, attacked our workers,” he said while talking to the media at the Jinnah Hospital. A worker was hit on the head with a brick, he said questioning if the election was a battle of the ballot or a battlefield.
