Pakistan: Jamaat-i-Islami calls out PPP and election commission over alleged election manipulation

The by-elections, held on Thursday, aimed to fill 10 vacant seats, including union committee chairmen, vice-chairmen, and councillors across various Karachi districts. The PPP emerged victorious, securing eight seats, including one in Liaquatabad Town, previously held by JI.

Despite winning two seats, JI denounced the results, alleging rigging, and organised a demonstration near the Nursery bus stop to protest the alleged manipulation, Dawn reported.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which had expressed concerns about the electoral process during the voting, did not comment on the by-election results. JI leader Monem Zafar, addressing the protest on Sharea Faisal, warned that his party would not tolerate "fake mandates" and threatened to escalate their protest movement if the results were not revised to reflect the people's will.

During his address, Zafar accused the PPP, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and law enforcement agencies of altering the election results. He stressed that the JI would not accept fraudulent outcomes and vowed to pursue protests and legal action.

He claimed that Karachi residents overwhelmingly supported the JI, but the PPP maintained its "legacy of electoral terrorism," using "unfair tactics" to transform its "defeat" into a victory, reported Dawn.

Zafar further criticised the PPP for relying on "fascism, mandate theft, hooliganism, and undemocratic tactics." He alleged that election officials, under the PPP's influence, tampered with crucial Forms 11, 12, and 13 to secure an illegitimate win. According to Zafar, such manipulations and rigging have severely eroded public trust in the electoral process, a development he described as both serious and dangerous.

Detailing the alleged rigging, Zafar pointed to irregularities in UC 7 of Model Town. He stated that in previous elections, the JI had won with 4,400 votes while the PPP secured only 650 votes, ranking 8th. Similarly, in the last general elections, the JI had received over 24,000 votes in the constituency compared to the PPP's 1,836.

However, he alleged that in the by-polls, results for the UC were delayed for eight hours, and when finally announced, the PPP's vote count was inflated from 1,086 to 4,362, while the JI's tally was reduced from over 3,000 to 2,415 votes.

Addressing the situation in Liaquatabad Town, Zafar claimed that during the previous elections, the JI had garnered around 3,000 votes compared to the PPP's 700. In the by-elections, however, results were allegedly manipulated to ensure a PPP victory.

Zafar's statements highlight his party's grievances, raising serious questions about the transparency and fairness of the electoral process in Karachi. (ANI)