The counting of votes was underway after polling concluded on remaining 63 local body seats in five divisions of Sindh amid a few incidents of violence in different areas of the province. The polling process began at 8am and continued until 5pm without any pause in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Ghotki, Khairpur and other cities. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) allowed the voters present inside polling stations to cast their votes beyond the 5pm deadline. It is pertinent to mention here that elections could not be held on the seats due to multiple reasons, including deaths of some candidates. With a total of 246 UCs in seven districts of Karachi, elections were held in 235 UCs on January 15 after polling in 11 constituencies were postponed due to the deaths of candidates over the past few months. A statement from the ECP spokesperson said that electoral violence was reported between supporters of two political parties in Hyderabad’s UC-119, adding that the commission had taken notice, halted polling and directed the deputy returning officer to provide a report and lodge a first information report against the culprits.
“S trict action is taken against perpetrators across the board,” the spokesperson said. The statement added that ECP Secretary Omar Hamid instructed Sindh’s chief secretary and inspector general of police to take strict action against the perpetrators and also ordered polling staff to submit a comprehensive report to the commission. The ECP secretary also talked to the officers concerned and Hyderabad’s senior superintendent of police regarding the matter and issued similar instructions to them.
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