Seven polling camps of political parties Saturday have been burnt in different areas of Karachi
KARACHI ( Web News )
Polling for the second phase of local government (LG) polls in Sindh has kicked off in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions with over 3.4 million people exercising their right to vote to elect their local governments.
The polling is taking place in seven districts of Karachi and nine districts of the Hyderabad division. Strict security measures have been put in place to ensure fair and transparent elections in both divisions.
It is being reported from various parts of Karachi and Hyderabad that polling has yet not begun due to staff ‘unavailability’.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected the provincial government’s notification to postpone polls and ruled that the LG polls would be held as per schedule on January 15.
Rejecting Sindh government notification and request, the ECP has directed Interior Ministry to ensure the deployment of Rangers and Army on highly sensitive polling stations in Karachi and Hyderabad.
Later, the Sindh government also announced to hold the local government (LG) polls on January 15, 2023.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has announced to boycott local government (LG) polls, scheduled to take place today (January 15) in three divisions of Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui announced that the party has decided to boycott local government (LG) elections, rejecting the ‘fake’ delimitations of constituencies and voter lists.
“Until January 15, we left no stone unturned to bring justice to this city,” Khalid Maqbool said, adding that the local body polls were already rigged.
The MQM-P convener noted that it was the electoral watchdog’s responsibility to keep an eye on constituencies, but it failed.
Seven polling camps of political parties Saturday have been burnt in different areas of Karachi by unidentified people during the polling process of local body elections.
The polling for local body elections has been held in 16 districts of Karachi and Hyderabad divisions.
According police reports, the officers stated that before the start polling, first blaze incident was reported in Saudabad where the fire was controlled in no time. However, the suspects fled the scene. There was no loss of life in the incident, but the equipment in election camp was partially damaged.
Seven polling camps of political parties Saturday have been burnt in different areas of Karachi. The camps have beeb set on fire in Malir city, Alimabad, Moreover the incidents of burning election camps have also been reported in Korangi.
The Central Control Room established by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has redressed as many as 45 election related complaints out of 46 registered cases on Sunday.
An ECP spokesman said in a statement that one complaint was being redressed. The complaints were received through phone, email and media.
The ECP had established Central Control Room in Islamabad to monitor Karachi local government polls. The Control Room which started working from Saturday (Jan 14) would remain operational uninterrupted till receipt of the last result.
Senior officers were monitoring the election process from the Control Room, Islamabad, while the Secretary and Special Secretary ECP are monitoring the election process from the office of Provincial Election Commission Sindh in Karachi.