KARACHI, 3 June — Candidates enjoying tacit support of political parties opposed to the military government secured most of the seats in parts of Sindh in the local bodies elections held on Thursday.
Most of the seats were captured by the Pakistan People’s Party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto or the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif.
According to the acting president of the Sindh chapter of PPP, Pir Aftab Shah Jilani, over 50 percent seats were won by his party candidates in Mirpurkhas division and Hyderabad.
Out of 64 seats in Mirpurkhas, 32 or more were won by candidates belonging to the PPP or backed by it. Similarly, all the six seats for chairmen of village councils were bagged by the PPP.
In two Hyderabad districts — Latifabad and Qasimabad — the party claims it has won 33 seats. Its candidates contesting elections also claimed major victories in remote Dadu district.
In many parts of interior Sindh, the PML and in some areas the Functional Muslim League led by Pir Pagara secured a number of seats.
Elections were held on a non-party basis but major parties had allowed their supporters and members to contest polls independently.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has expressed concern at the inability of the authorities to prevent some groups from harassing women voters and even stopping them from exercising their right of franchise.
The commission said preventing women from casting votes or filing nomination papers was a violation of their fundamental rights.
“It is an outrage that in many areas activists of certain groups were permitted to harass women who had gone to file papers,” Hina Jilani, the secretary-general of the commission said in a statement.
She was referring to an incident in the North West Frontier Province where women trying to file nomination papers were harassed and their papers torn.
“Such actions can take place only with the collusion of the authorities,” she said.
“The Election Commission must immediately order repolling in the constituencies where women were prevented from voting,” she demanded.
In Hyderabad, fears of violence kept voters, candidates and officials away from polling stations.
There was a heavy police and paramilitary presence throughout the city with military personnel manning checkpoints in sensitive areas, mostly dominated by the MQM.
The local bodies elections, which are being held in phases, began in February and will cover the entire country by the end of July.
