On Sunday, Murtaza Wahab, the mayor of Karachi, secured victory in the local government by-election, resulting in his election as the chairman of UC-13 Saddar Town.
Murtaza Wahab wins LB polls: Unofficial results show that Noorul Islam, the candidate for Jamaat-e-Islami, won 1,566 votes compared to 3,976 for Murtaza Wahab, who represents the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
After Wahab’s victory, PPP supporters celebrated with gusto, expressing their happiness with traditional dancing.
Wahab himself took part in the celebrations and spoke to the PPP employees, highlighting the Bhutto family’s continuing political power in Pakistan.
He continued, highlighting the PPP’s resolve to win and even hinting that party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would become Pakistan’s next prime minister, by predicting that the outcome would set the tone for the next general elections.
Details indicate that PPP deputy mayor of Karachi Salman Murad also achieved a noteworthy victory.
Salman Murad received 4,717 votes, according to the unofficial results from 15 polling places in UC 7 Gadap, whereas Ayub Khaskheli, the candidate from Jamaat-e-Islami, received 951 votes. Abdul Hafeez Jokhio, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate, received 175 votes in this election.
In a different election from TMC Mari Port town’s UC-3, Saifullah Noor of the PPP won the chairmanship with an impressive 5,466 votes.
According to the Keamari returning officer, Muhammad Hussain of Jamaat-e-Islami received 788 votes to finish in second place, and Muhammad Shahid Iqbal of the PML-N received 606 votes to finish in third.
Low Voter Turnout and Controversies Mark Karachi Local By-Elections
UC-3 Maripur town had a 29% voter turnout, with 7,485 ballots cast out of 25,512 registered voters.
Nine districts in Karachi held local government by-elections on Sunday. The voting locations were open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It was decided to designate all 121 voting places in the city as “sensitive” or “highly sensitive.”
For these nine seats, a total of 54 candidates from different parties, including the PPP, JI, and PTI, were running. There are 206,686 registered voters in the by-poll constituencies, including 112,271 male and 94,415 female voters.
Authorities held elections for one seat each in the districts of Karachi’s east, central, and Keamari; three seats each in the districts of Malir and south Karachi; one seat each in the districts of Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, and Sukkur; four seats in Khairpur; and one seat each in the districts of Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Tando Allah Yar, and Jamshoro.
To stop Wahab from participating in the by-elections, JI filed a plea in the Sindh High Court last week.
JI Karachi Deputy Ameer Raja Arif Sultan, in his plea, contends that authorities should adjourn the by-elections until they settle the constitutional petition.
Furthermore, The idea behind this action was that the mayor’s involvement in the by-elections was against the Election Act’s code of conduct.
Additionally, many believe that Wahab’s participation in the by-election breached the Local Government Act’s code of conduct.
Additionally, The petitioner emphasised that the ECP had drafted the local government election code of conduct in accordance with constitutional norms.
However, Clause 16(B) of the ECP code of conduct prohibits public office holders, including mayors, chairmen, and their deputies, from participating in political campaigns or election-related activities in any constituency.
