PTI and JI formed Joint committee to ‘defend’ mandate and a four member committee was formed to examine what happened during the elections, according to Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, who made the announcement on Saturday as confusion surrounded the results of the local government elections in Hyderabad and Karachi.
JI had challenged the polling results and claimed to have won the majority of seats in the port city’s local elections. The party also requested action against the district returning officers (DRO) and returning officers (RO) responsible for the rigging and improper vote counting in six union committees of Karachi.
Rehman stated at a press conference with Sindh President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ali Zaidi that the winning party’s mandate should be safeguarded by other political parties.
The JI chief added that his party wants to reach a consensus for Karachi’s development and that “everyone’s mandate should be recognised but it should be legal.”
Rehman stated that the party has concerns about the constituencies but added that many people had voted for them.
He said that because the results had been changed, they had provided the relevant information to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). “According to Form-11, the results were altered, and the UCs were also decreased during the vote recount,” he claimed.
He continued by saying that the Pakistan People’s Party stood to gain from the entire recounting process (PPP). If the Peoples Party had won the polls in a fair manner, he continued, “We wouldn’t have any objections.”
Rehman hinted at creating an agreement with PTI for the appointment of a mayor by stating that his party is in a position to name its own mayor.
He added that his party wants to reach a consensus for Karachi’s development and that “all political parties are responsible for maintaining the mandate of whoever has won.”
Rehman stated that there is a working relationship with PTI when referring to JI’s connections to that organisation. He said it in relation to Sindh’s LG elections from 2015.
Rehman claimed that JI had proposed to PTI that Karachi’s mayor be chosen unanimously.
He added that JI would have congratulated PPP if the latter had been in a position to do so, but the party was unable to name a mayor on its own.
If the mayor is chosen from JI, he continued, there would be criticism and restitution.
Rehman stated that he wished the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to have taken part in the LG elections in Sindh when discussing the party’s stance on those elections.
However, he asserted that MQM-P made the choice to abstain from the second round of Sindh’s LG elections on its own.
“MQM-P made desperate attempts to halt the election. MQM-P discussed constituencies when attempting to avoid the election “Rehman came to an end. Additionally, he demanded that the terror cases brought against JI and PTI be dropped.