JI’s Hafiz Naeem slams delay in releasing LG polls results

• Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said the elections were deliberately delayed
• He said the presiding officers were bound to handover Form 11 and 12
• He warned to stage protests if the results were not announced

KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami’s Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman slammed the delay in announcing the results of the Local Government (LG) elections in Karachi, saying it was tantamount to rigging.

Addressing a hurriedly called press conference, Hafiz Naeem alleged that results were deliberately being delayed. He instructed party supporters to surround polling stations across the city to demand the early release of election results.

He said the presiding officers were bound to handover Form 11 and 12 once the votes have been counted. He said the forms were not yet been handed over despite directives issued by the ECP.

He said it is their constitutional, democratic, and legal right to be provided numbers of election results. He said the Election Commission of Pakistan has also issued a directive for releasing the forms for results.

He allegedly that some deputy commissioners and district returning officers and the Sindh government was interfering in the election process.

He warned that if the forms were not provided within the next half hour, the party would initiate a city-wide protest or stage a sit-in outside the election commission’s office.

“You can’t attack our mandate. The people and the city of Karachi have voted for us with great hopes,” he added.

His remarks came after polling in 16 districts of the province including Karachi and Hyderabad ended, with the counting of votes currently underway.

According to unofficial results, the PPP is leading the race in Karachi and Hyderabad. It is being followed in a close contest between PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami, while the MQM has boycotted the polls and rejected the results.

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