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Thursday March 28, 2024

District West: MQM to challenge invalidation of candidate’s win

By our correspondents
August 27, 2016

Karachi

Strongly condemning the decision to declare its candidate’s win as District West chairman null and void, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Friday said it would challenge the decision in the Election Tribunal.

The election held in the final phase of local bodies’ polls on Wednesday, was declared invalid on pretext of ballot papers having been tampered with, a day later.

Addressing a press conference at Ghanchi Hall MQM MPA, Mohammed Hussain, along with the party’s Rabita Committee members refused to accept the decision.

He observed that Izhar Ahmed had rightfully won the election and the justification to invalidate his win was baseless. Hussain said the party would challenge the decision in the tribunal and would also file an appeal with the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The recounting of votes was carried out after the situation in district West got tense after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – contesting the election in a six-party alliance – was alleged of betraying the alliance to get its candidate more votes. 

As per the new result, of the 36 votes received by Izhar Ahmed, 24 votes were adjudged to have been void. With the recount, Asif Khan was eventually declared victorious with a total of 31 votes.

The MQM had appointed Ahmed, former Nazim of SITE Town, for the slot of chairman of the DMC West, while for the slot of deputy chairman it had named its Pashtun leader, Gul Faraz Khattak.

The six-party alliance, Karachi Ittehad, which had 35 members belonging to its component parties – PML-N, PTI, PPP, ANP, JI and JUI-F – had nominated the PML-N’s Asif Khan, younger brother of MPA Humayun Khan, for the position of chairman, while for the slot of deputy chairman the PTI’s Azizullah Afridi, who was the party’s former Karachi secretary general, had been named.   

The alliance had already distributed seats – including chairman, vice-chairman and reserved seats for labourers, women, youth and non-Muslim – among the member parties.

The situation at DC West office on Wednesday afternoon became intense when unofficial results declared the MQM’s Ahmed chairman and the PTI’s Afridi deputy chairman. Ahmed had reportedly received 36 votes, while the PTI’s Afridi received 44 votes.

After the announcement of the unofficial results, workers belonging to the alliance members began protesting and chanting slogans and fighting occurred between activists of the PTI and the PML-N. However, Rangers and police present on the site controlled the situation.

Abdul Razzaq, the JI District West’s head and a leader of the alliance, told The News that the PTI’s four members had sold their votes to the MQM.