Sindh LG polling concludes, vote count underway

The second phase of local body polls ended almost peacefully at 5pm in Karachi, Hyderabad and other districts of Sindh province and now the process of vote count is underway.

As hundreds of thousands of people headed to vote in a bid to elect their local representatives, political parties complained and demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to increase the polling time as the process began late at some of the stations.

Despite the demands of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and consecutive requests of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government to delay the polls, the local body elections were held as per the schedule.

MQM-P announces boycott of LG Elections in Karachi-Hyderabad

In the early hours of Sunday, MQM-P announced that it will boycott the local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions after ECP turned down its repeated requests for changes in delimitations.

Addressing to a presser, MQM-P Chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that we have earlier indicated before that LG polls are already rigged. After hours of internal discussions, the party held a press conference after midnight, announcing its decision.

“Neither the voters list, nor the delimitations and arrangements for the elections are appropriate”, lamented Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui during a press conference.

He said that the party waited till the last minute for the election commission to “right the wrongs” and do justice but all gone in vain.

MQM-P Chief urged the voters to also “stay home” and boycott the polls as “your vote will not be counted the right way.”

The MQM-P chief appeared to give PPP the clean chit, saying that it did its part to resolve the delimitation issue, but the ECP intervened. He also said that the party will not quit the coalition government or “blackmail” anyone due to the frail economic and political situation.

Election Commission rejects reports of 'missing' Presiding officers

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Sindh office has rejected the reports of ‘missing’ presiding officers ahead of local government (LG) elections, stating that the electoral watchdog was committed to holding free and fair elections.

In a statement, ECP Sindh office stated that no presiding officer was reported missing from Karachi, adding that District Returning Officer (DROs) were in contact with all officials.

Stringent security measures during LB polls

In light of stringent security measures, more than 43,605 law enforcement officials and personnel will perform their duties under the security plan devised by the Sindh government.

According to the spokesperson of the province's police, 26,050 officers and personnel will be deployed on election duty at 4,997 polling stations in the city.

Election Commission's Central Room to monitor LB polls in Khi-Hyd

Central control room has been established at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretariat in Islamabad to monitor the second phase of local government elections being held in Karachi and Hyderabad today.

PPP to give surprise on polling day: Sharjeel Memon

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon earlier claimed that Pakistan Peoples’ Party will give a big surprise in local government (LG) elections today. The provincial minister reiterated that the local government (LG) elections would be conducted as per the schedule issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).