JI’s Hafiz Naeem announces protest outside ECP in Islamabad

KARACHI: Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, who was a candidate for Karachi Mayor slot, has announced protest outside the office of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Islamabad, ARY News reported on Monday.

Addressing a press conference, the JI Karachi chief said that his party would stage a protest outside the ECP office in Islamabad on Friday (June 23) against the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) alleged use of force to win the Karachi Mayor election.

“We can’t accept these fake and rigged elections,” Hafiz Naeem said, alleging that the PPP had “unlawfully held Karachi’s mandate”.

He further said that the ECP had completely failed to hold free and fair elections in Karachi, questioning how the body would be able to hold polls across the country.

“If the ECP works as a facilitator for parties, how will democracy flourish in Pakistan?” he asked, adding that the ECP will have to declare the election invalid and “rectify all its mistakes”.

The JI leader vowed that his party would adopt every legal and constitutional path to bring the truth before the public. “If you had won the elections in a fair manner, we would have accepted the results without any complaints,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) candidate Murtaza Wahab was elected Karachi mayor after securing 173 through a show of hand.

JI’s candidate Hafiz Naeemur Rehman secured 160 votes, the unconfirmed and unofficial results showed. The voting for Karachi mayor and deputy mayor was held at Pakistan Arts Council under strict security.

The mayoral contest was between Wahab and Rehman, as all the other candidates had withdrawn their nomination papers, while Salman Abdullah and Saifuddin of PPP and JI, respectively contested for the post of deputy mayor.

According to the entry register 332 elected members reached the polling station, as 34 members of the KMC failed to reach the Arts Council of Pakistan.