PPP cannot have its mayor elected without floor crossing

If all goes by the book, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) should clinch the coveted post of the Karachi mayor because the number of seats of the JI and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has announced unconditional support for the JI in the mayoral election, exceed the simple majority in the 371-member Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) City Council. PTI Chairman lmran Khan has endorsed the party’s Karachi chapter decision to support the Jamaat-e-Islami for the post of the Karachi mayor. “All the elected and nominated candidates of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will be supporting the JI candidate for Mayor Karachi Election,” reads a notification issued by Karachi PTI President Akram Cheema.

This means that even if the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has the support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in the City Council, it would need floor-crossing by some members of the PTI or JI to get its mayor elected. It is being speculated that the JI would field its city emir, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, as the mayoral candidate while the PPP would announce Murtaza Wahab as its candidate. Party position The KMC City Council members include the chairmen of all the 246 union committees in the city and those elected on the reserved seats for women, minorities, youth, labour, disabled and transgender persons.

The total number of seats in the City Council is 371 and the mayor needs to enjoy the simple majority in the council, which is 186 members. So far, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced the results of all the UCs of the city, exceptone. According to the ECP, the JI won 87 chairman seats in the local government elections, after which it got 29 reserved seats for women, four reserved seats each for youth, labour and minorities, and one reserved seat each for transgender and disabled persons. The total number of JI in the City Council is 130.

The PTI won 43 chairman seats in the LG elections. After getting 14 reserved seats for women and two reserved seats each for youth, labour and minorities, its total number in the City Council is 63. Therefore, the combined number of the JI and PTI is 193, which is more than the simple majority of 186.

The PPP won 104 chairman seats and emerged as the largest party in the City Council. It later got 34 seats reserved for women, five each for minorities, labour and youth, and one each for disabled and transgender persons. The party has 155 members in total. The PMLN won eight chairmen seats. It later secured three reserved seats for women, and one seat each for minorities, labour and youth, after which it has 14 seats in the City Council.

The JUI won three chairmen seats, and got one reserved seat each for women, youth, labour and minorities. It has a total of seven seats in the City Council. The TLP secured only one chairman seat and could not get any reserved seat. Therefore, the total number of the PPP, PML-N, JUI and TLP members stands at 177, which is below the magical number of 186.