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KARACHI, (MANEND NEWS): The counting of votes is underway in the first phase of local body elections in Sindh, which marred by violence and alleged irregularities.
Polling was held in 14 districts of Sindh in the first phase with at least 21,298 candidates contested for 5,331 seats.
Voting which began at 9am ended at 5pm without any interruption and as many as 946 candidates were elected unopposed.
Days after the Sindh High Court (SHC) rejected petitions to postpone the local government (LG) election in Sindh, people gathered at polling stations in 14 districts of the province to choose their local bodies representatives.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), candidates for 946 seats have already been declared unopposed.
The total number of voters in all 14 districts is 1,1492,680 for which 29.5 million ballot papers were printed, and 9290,000 polling stations and 29,970 polling booths were set up. The electoral watchdog deemed 1,985 polling stations to be “highly sensitive” and 3,448 as “sensitive”.
The 14 districts of Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Mirpur Khas divisions which will go to polls are Jacobabad, Qambar, Shahdad Kot, Shikarpur, Larkana, Kashmore, Kandhkot, Ghotki, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Naushero Feroze, Shaheed Benazir. Abad, Sanghar, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot and Tharparkar.
Violence at polling stations
During the election polling, clashes broke out between political parties at several polling stations leading to injuries. Voting was halted due to riots at certain wards. There were reports of rigging, rioting, disappearances of polling booths and incarceration of polling staff in different districts, according to Express News.
In ward 13 of Tando Adam, a clash occurred between PPP and PTI workers which led to the death of Zafar Khan Gandapur, the brother of PTI candidate Qaiser Khan Gandapur – who was also injured during the fight.
Polling was stopped in ward 13 after the murder, and the PTI candidate alleged that his brother was killed due to PPP workers’ violence.
In Nawabshah, unidentified assailants attacked three polling stations causing the ECP to postpone the voting process.
In Pano Aqil, the authorities arrested at least 13 people who were allegedly involved in violence at the polling stations. According to ECP, it would not let anyone thwart the polling or disrupt the elections.
In Khairpur, at least five people were injured as a result of a clash between the workers of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and the PPP. The violence had resulted in the closure of the polling stations.
In Kashmore, a large number of police officials had arrived at Guddu Town Committee’s ward no.10 as a result of the violence between supporters of a PPP nominee and an independent candidate.
In Sanghar, the violence resulted in the closure of the polling station and multiple injuries whereas in Rohri, there were unconfirmed reports of a death and multiple injuries as a result of firing between two parties. Police had to be called in to control the situation.
In Khanpur Meher, a scuffle broke out between the members of the PPP and GDA after the latter accused the presiding officer of manipulating the election. The polling had to be stopped after the violence as the situation remained tense despite the police’s presence.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the ECP said that the chief election commissioner was monitoring the electoral process himself. They said that the election watchdog took swift action in the areas where violence was reported and reopened the polling stations after taking control of the situation. They urged people not to pay heed to the rumours and poll their votes without fear.
Earlier in the day, Sindh Election Commissioner Ijaz Anwar Chauhan while addressing a press conference said that Rangers personnel would be present with police for quick response if need be.
He added that they were also in touch with the military in case of emergency. According to Ijaz, cameras were installed to make the elections transparent, and an effective security system had also been put in place. He maintained that strict action would be taken against those who spread unrest, adding that Daska’s case was before everyone as an example.
“Action will also be taken against staff who colluded with the candidates”, he said.
Erroneous ballot papers
Meanwhile, the ECP took to its official Twitter handle to announce that some districts had erroneous candidate names printed on the ballot papers. According to the Election Commission, the contestation in these regions would be postponed and a new schedule would be presented for fresh elections.