KARACHI, The local government by-elections in 16 districts of Sindh witnessed a substantial victory for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) candidate Murtaza Wahab from Karachi on Sunday.
According to a report, Wahab obtained an impressive total of 3,976 votes from his Union Council, while his rival, Noor Islam of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), could get 1,566 votes.
In Khairpur, PPP candidates dominated in most of the constituencies, with confirmed victories in four of them. The counting of votes commenced across all 16 districts of Sindh, including five districts of Karachi, following the closure of the polling process at 5.00 pm sharp.
To ensure transparency and maintain law and order on the polling day, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) established a control room in Karachi. Voting began promptly at 8.00 am and continued without interruption until 5.00 pm, with at least 121 polling stations set up in the metropolis for this purpose.
The polling was conducted for 10 seats of chairmen and vice chairmen, including ward members. Notable contests included Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab facing Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Obaidullah Shah Noorul Islam in UC-13 Saddar Town.
In the Kashmore district, a highly competitive election was seen between Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Ramzan Mazari and Sindh United Party’s (SUP) Allah Dino Kalwarr in Union Council (UC) Masowala. The constituency had 13,184 voters, with polling stations set up for both genders, each with their dedicated stations, and police personnel providing security. The results could not be announced till filing this report.
The Shikarpur by-election was anticipated to be closely fought, with PPP and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) candidates vying for the councilor seat in Shikarpur. Several polling stations were declared extremely sensitive, and a control room was established to ensure a smooth voting process.
In Ghotki, the contest featured JUI-F’s Barkat Bhutto and the PPP’s Bashir Bhutto fought for the general councilor seat in Ward-II of the UC Qadirpur. Three polling stations were set up for the 3,500 voters in the area. PPP is expected to win on this seat.
In Sukkur, elections were held for 12 local bodies’ (LB) seats, with candidates on six seats being elected unopposed, including five from the PPP and one independent candidate.
In Khairpur, a fierce contest was seen between PPP, JI, and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) candidates for two municipal committees (MC), one town committee, and a district council seat. The MC seat was expected to see a tight race between PPP’s Noman Raza and GDA’s Asif Raza.