Sindh govt influenced the entire LG polls process

An interview with Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Hafiz Naeemur Rehman

Karachi: Hafiz Naeemur Rehman joined the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) – the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) – in 1985 and later served as its chief twice. In 2000 he became a member of the JI.

He was elected as the JI ameer for Karachi in 2013 before serving as an assistant secretary, general secretary and deputy ameer of the party’s Karachi chapter. Naeem, who belongs to a middle class family, is known for his activism and his successful protest campaigns for the rights of the people of the mega city.

Q. Even after two weeks, the complete election results have not been finalised. Why has there been such a delay and what is the expected decision of six seats from the election tribunal?

Naeem Ur Rehman: We have approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over the delay and are very hopeful that on february 2, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) will get back its six seats that were stolen by the Returning Officers (ROs) and District Returning Officers (DROs). We welcomed the assurance given to us by the ECP and the Chief Election Commissioner to rectify the results of the local government polls in Karachi as per Form 11 and to take strict action against those ROs and DROs involved in altering the results. But let me tell you clearly here that we had to really stick to our guns and fight for the six seats otherwise they were as good as gone. Thankfully, our representatives maintained a strict vigil at the polling stations past midnight and managed to obtain Form 11 with great difficulty despite the fact that it is our fundamental right to get these forms after the polling.

Q. Compared to the other parties, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) campaigned vociferously and consistently for the local body elections. Are you satisfied with the results and participation of people?

NUR: This is a known fact that the Local Government (LG) elections were not among the priorities of any political party. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) was the only party which was very keen on the elections while the other parties wanted to avoid them. This was the reason that the LG elections were postponed no less than four times. This time too, there was a lot of uncertainty and, even until a few hours before the announcement finally came, the people were unsure whether the elections will be held or not.  Nevertheless, the voter turnout in such circumstances was a commendable act of the people of Karachi. Had the polls been announced a week before, the voter turnout would have been much, much higher, nearly 40 percent.

Q. Are you satisfied with the performance and conduct of the Election Commission (EC) in the local bodies’ polls?

NUR: The Election Commission must be praised for the fact that all the parties, except Jamaat-e-Islami, applied tremendous pressure and tried their best to postpone the elections yet again. But the Election Commission took a firm stand and conducted the elections. This was very progressive and welcoming development on the ECP’s part and must be appreciated. However, it must be mentioned here that the Election Commission was held hostage by the ROs, DROs and the presiding officers. The fact that the results were delayed for so many hours and Form 11 were not handed on time, even in some of the Union Councils, is proof that the Election Commission’s effectiveness is very limited.

Q. So you are trying to say that the Election Commission is not able to exercise its authority in Sindh?

NUR: Actually, the fact is that the ROs, DROs and the presiding officers are appointed at the behest of the Government, so the Election Commission has to depend on them. In these polls we have witnessed how the Sindh Government influenced the entire electoral process which massively damaged the credibility of the polls. In the aftermath of that, it is now become imperative that reforms are made in the election process. The way Sindh government exerted its influence and rigged the polls also raise concerns over the fact that if the local bodies election could not be held transparently and so many hurdles were created, how can one expect the general elections to be held in a fair and transparent manner. If we don’t have any trustable mechanism of the electoral process, how can we trust democracy? The election process was hijacked and the numbers were obtained by force.

Q. It was alleged by your rival parties that JI was not keen on recounting. Comment?

NUR: We reject the impression by some quarters that the JI was against recounting. I want to make it clear that the JI was only opposing recounting under the biased ROs and DROs and without fulfilling the legal requirements. We would appreciate the recounting to be done under the supervision of ECP in order to make sure that Sindh government does not influence it again. We urge the EC to go for recounting at all the UCs across the city under its own surveillance. If that happens, I can claim that JI will win with a two-thirds majority. These are baseless and damaging statement which are made to create more confusion. The EC has set up tribunals and now we are going into it because we have no fear of any wrongdoing.

Q. What progress has been made in the committee formed with PTI to protect the mandate of both the parties?

NUR: A working committee has been set up with PTI, but no document has been produced as evidence by them so far. Statements alone will not solve the problems. We need to act and act solidly. We want the mandate of every party to be recognised even if it is our opponents. The entire election process has gone awry which should be highlighted. In this regard we have set up a legal cell which will provide legal assistance to people of any political party. We are taking all these measures keeping in mind not only this election, but also the upcoming elections.

Q. What is your plan for the by-elections on the remaining 11 Union Councils?

NUR: On the remaining 11 union councils in Karachi, where the local government elections for the chairman and vice chairman are yet to be held, we demand of the ECP to appoint ROs and DROs other than those working under the PPP government in Sindh in order to ensure transparency. The ECP should bring in the ROs, DROs, and presiding officers from the Centre or the Punjab or KPK. We also reaffirm our demand to deploy the army and Rangers personnel at the polling stations. It is likely that the Sindh government will try to influence those elections as well. We want the Election Commission staff to be posted at all the eleven UCs so that no doubts are created over the results and the people could cast their votes in a peaceful environment.

Q. The PPP had been the main target of criticism throughout the JI’s election campaign. Won’t it affect your party’s credibility now if you go into a coalition set-up with them in Karachi?

NUR: Karachi has voted for us, and this mandate has been given by people for the development of this city. What we all want is to come up to their expectations by delivering the best that this city deserves and we will not disappoint our voters. Prior to any coalition, primarily a consensus among all of the parties, whether having one seat or more, is necessary so that the process continues in the future.

For this purpose, we have contacted all the political parties regardless of the political differences. Yes we believe that there has been so much corruption in Karachi in so many ways the mega city has been neglected by all these parties in the past, yet we want a consensus to be reached in order to move this process forward and build and develop the city in the years to come. I believe if the citizens are benefiting through the political process then that is paramount and all the parties coming together for the development of the city is the best option.