Election for Karachi's Deputy Mayor on April 18: ECP

KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced that the election of Deputy Mayor Karachi will be held on April 18, ARY News reported.

The ECP has announced the schedule for the election of the office of deputy mayor, which was vacated due to disqualification of Arshad Vohra for switching parties after being elected to his position.

The nomination papers of the candidates for the deputy mayor will be received till March 29.

Over 302 members of Karachi’s City Council will use their right to vote to elect the new deputy mayor of the city.

Vohra had become the deputy mayor on the ticket of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan. He had been elected chairman from the Union Council 49. Later, he joined Pak Sarzameen Party. His former party MQM-P sought the election commission to de-seat Vohra for switching loyalty to the Mustafa Kamal-led party.

Arshad Vohra was elected chairman of Union Council-49 of Karachi’s central district.

A five-member bench of the ECP headed by its chief Sardar Raza heard the petition.

The then MQM-P convener Farooq Sattar had gone to the electoral body seeking disqualification of Vohra under the Local Government Act 2013.

He contended that Vohra elected as deputy mayor on MQM-P ticket and he did not relinquish his office after changing loyalty to PSP, which is sheer violation of the constitutional laws. Sattar demanded the ECP to issue a notification of Vohra’s disqualification immediately.

Last year on Oct 29, Vohra had announced to join the PSP. PSP chairman Mustafa Kamal said the party would not ask Vohra to quit his office in light of the ECP’s judgment in Ayesha Gulalai case.