KARACHI – Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rejected results of the election for the Karachi mayor slot after Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Murtaza Wahab bagged victory.
According to unofficial and unverified results, the PPP stalwart secured 173 votes whereas Jamaat-e-Islami Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman got 160 votes.
The results also sparked clashes between workers of the political parties as videos showed them pelting stones at each other while some can be seen smashing car screens. Police and Rangers resorted to baton charge to disperse them while nearly two dozen have been arrested.
Following the results for the Karachi mayoral elections, PTI Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi shared a brief statement on Twitter stating: “PPP may have won but democracy has lost”.
PPP may have won but democracy has lost.#میئر_کراچی_الیکشن
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) June 15, 2023
Meanwhile, JI has written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to declare the polls null and void. It has accused the Sindh government of using force to bar 29 PTI members from taking part in the voting process.
The JI claimed that the PTI members were abducted from their houses. It said the ECP should complete the attendance first before starting the voting.
دیکھیے کیسے تحریک انصاف اور جماعت اسلامی کے منتخب نمائندوں کو اغوا کر کے اور ہال میں داخلے سے روک کر زردای اور بلاول کے غیرمنتخب لاڈلے کو کراچی پر مسلط کرنے کی راہ ہموار کی گئی
pic.twitter.com/wG77aXx2bj— PTI (@PTIofficial) June 15, 2023
On the other hand, PTI has shared a video on Twitter, showing PTI members protesting outside the Art Council, where the mayor election was held, as they were not allowed to enter the premises to cast their vote.