MQM's Rehan Hashmi elected chairman in Karachi Central district

KARACHI: MQM's MNA Rehan Hashmi was elected unopposed as the chairman from Karachi Central District unopposed on Wednesday. 

Another MQM representative, Saeed Shakir, was also elected unopposed as the vice-chairman from Karachi Central District.  

After eight months of uncertainty, the province is finally all set to hold mayoral elections in its various urban and rural centres on Wednesday (today), as per the schedule announced by the election commission.

However, amid the party chief being booked in a treason case, the under-fire Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is certain of a convincing victory.

But all is not well. According to a Geo News report, the MQM has 204 votes and it needs 155 of them to get its mayor and deputy candidates in Karachi elected.

However, achieving that many votes would be difficult as the voting cards of the elected union council chairmen and vice chairmen from East and West districts were said to be at Nine Zero, the party’s headquarters sealed by paramilitary soldiers during a raid on Monday night.

The report said that MQM leaders approached the Provincial Election Commission authorities with the request to allow the US chairmen and vice chairmen to cast their ballots by using their original computerised national identity cards.

Addressing a historic press conference a day after almost all of its local leadership was taken into custody by law enforcers’ and its headquarters, sector and unit offices sealed, senior MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar believed the upheaval was not to affect the party’s position in anyway.

Already referring to its mayoral candidates for districts of Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas as mayors, a confident Dr Sattar further declared his party a winner in district council elections in five of the six Karachi districts.

Expressing faith in his party, the senior official stated that, “For MQM, the times are as trying today as they were yesterday!”   

Despite the brimming confidence, Dr Sattar, nonetheless, did not undermine the importance of the party winning today’s polls. Speaking to a media official, he said the party realises that it was crucial for the party to retain the December 6, 2015’s win – when it swept local bodies’ polls.

Responding to the ban placed on MQM’s political activities, the senior party official said such tactics had always proved counterproductive.

In light of its headquarters being sealed, the former city mayor informed that party officials were looking over operations from Ghanchi Hall, in PIB Colony, where they also met with DG Sindh Rangers, Major Gen Bilal Akbar.

Meanwhile, Election material was dispatched to the polling venue on MA Jinnah Road. The provincial election commissioner asked the chief secretary and the home secretary to take security measures for today’s polling.

Security plan

Finalising security measures for today’s polls, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed law enforcement agencies to provide proper security to elected councillors in order for them to participate in elections freely.

Addressing media personnel, Shah strictly observed that nobody would be allowed to hijack the city’s peace and if anybody did, they would be dealt with an iron fist.

“It is the police’ responsibility to ensure security was provided to each and every citizen,” the CM observed.

Accompanied by his advisor on Law, Maula Bux Chandio, the CM stated that he had issued necessary directives to law enforcement agencies and was quite optimistic of the entire process being completed amicably and peacefully.

“The government, Police, Rangers and all other law enforcement agencies would stay up all night if they have to, to protect the city’s residents,” Murad stated while referring to the violence that erupted in the city a day earlier.

Nobody, the CM further added, would be allowed to torch vehicles, use guns or take the law in their hands and shut the city down. “The honeymoon period of the outlaws had now come to an end!”

Abstaining from responding to the changed political dynamics of the city, Murad said it was the MQM’s internal matter. "I respect the mandate of Karachi’s people," he said.

Political parties and candidates

The three mayoral candidates in Karachi were Waseem Akhtar, Karamullah Waqasi of the MQM and PPP respectively while Arshad Hasan was an independent candidate contesting for the slot.

Four candidates for the slot of deputy mayor Karachi were MQM’s Arshad Abdullah Vohra, PML-N’s Amaullah Afridi and two independents, Mohammed Rafiq and Naveed Jameel.

Among the parties contesting, the MQM was set to take the reins of the city’s metropolitan corporation and form a clear government in at least three districts – Central, Korangi and East.

Having 204 members in the 308-member city council, the MQM was in a position to form its government in the Karachi Municipal Corporation without entering into an alliance with another political party.

However, in districts South and West, the MQM was up against an alliance of six political parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party, the PML-N, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Awami National Party, the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl.

However, other parties had also submitted papers of their candidates for the slots of mayor and deputy mayor.

Central, East, Korangi

In the 57-member DMC Central the MQM has 56 members, while it also has a majority in the 54-member DMC Korangi and 47-member DMC East.

DMC West

In the 67-member DMC West the MQM emerged the largest political party by grabbing 32 seats and was in a position to comfortably form a government there without any other party’s support.

Despite the six-party alliance’s claim of having mustered the support of 35 elected individuals, it appeared that their seats were distributed among those of chairperson, vice-chairperson and reserved seats for labourers, women, youth and non-Muslims.

The PML-N who fielded its candidate, Asif Khan, for the slot of district West’ chairperson was likely to lose support of its own party since three of PML-N’s members were likely to support MQM’s candidate.

The district had a another contestant for the slot vice chairperson which was PTI’s Azizullah Afridi.

DMC South

In the 47-member DMC South, the PPP and the MQM both have claimed that they had gained support of majority of the members. However, analysts said the PML-N with its crucial number of votes would be the deciding factor.

The PML-N developed internal differences in DMC South. Its district president, Sultan Bahadur Khan, who had been elected a district labour councillor with the support of the MQM and was now a candidate for the vice-chairman’s slot was more interested in forging an electoral alliance with the MQM.

The proposal to forge an alliance with the MQM caused an internal rift within the party as several members refused to abide by the agreement and announced their support for the PPP.  

DMC Malir

In the 20-member DMC Malir, the PPP was in a comfortable position to form its government with the ANP and the JI supporting it.

Interestingly, unlike other districts the MQM was out of the contest as it grabbed only two seats there and the main competitor against the PPP was the PML-N, which secured five seats.

The PPP’s nominees for the posts of chairperson and vice chairperson were Jan Muhammad Baloch and Abdul Khaliq Marwat, while Waheed Zaman Lala and Malik Muhammad Taj were of the PML-N’s.