JI to observe ‘black day’ as Murtaza Wahab elected Karachi mayor

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Siraj-ul-Haq announced to mark Friday as “Black Day” after Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Murtaza Wahab was elected as Karachi’s mayor, defeating JI’s Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, ARY News reported.

“Black Day will be observed across the country tomorrow against the controversial Karachi Mayoral Election. I appeal to every democrat to participate in tomorrow’s gathering,” the JI chief said in a tweet.

کراچی میئرالیکشن کے اغوا کے خلاف کل ملک بھر میں یوم سیاہ منایا جائے گا۔ ہر آئین اور جمہوریت پسند سے شرکت کی اپیل کرتا ہوں۔#سلیکٹڈمیئر_جعلی_جمہوریت_نامنظور

— Siraj ul Haq (@SirajOfficial) June 15, 2023

Addressing a press conference outside Arts Council, Jamaat Islami Karachi chief Naeem has demanded of the Chief Election Commissioner to declare the mayoral election in Karachi as void and issue a new schedule.

“We had the 192 while PPP had 173 voters,” he claimed. Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman also announced to approach courts against Karachi mayor poll.

In a letter to ECP, the JI leader said: “the Sindh government abducted 29 PTI council members to restrain them from casting vote in the election.”

“The election commission should cancel this ‘fraud exercise’ and issue a new schedule for polls,” JI letter read.

“It is prime objective of the election commission to hold fair and transparent election, but the electoral body was utterly failed in it,” according to the letter.

“The doors of the hall were closed at the time of the mayor’s election, while 29 PTI members were stopped from casting vote after abducting them from homes,” JI spokesperson complained in the letter.

Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Barrister Murtaza Wahab elected Karachi mayor after securing 173 through a show of hand, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results.

JI’s candidate Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman secured 160 votes, as per the unconfirmed and unofficial results.