JI's Hafiz Naeem shows an inclination to form an alliance with other political parties if need be
As results continue to come out slowly for the local government elections in Karachi, Jamat-e-Islami (JI) has denounced the delay while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rejected the results.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, JI Karachi President Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said: "We are not getting the results from the returning officers (RO) despite over 18 hours of delay since the conclusion of polling."
He strongly condemned the delay and called on the authorities concerned to stop the ROs who are "trying to change the results".
Rehman also alleged that over 30 voters' lists were flawed but still a reasonable number of people came out to vote.
He said that a lot of people from the PPP also voted for JI. He further said that his party has won over 100 seats, adding that there is ambiguity on the rest of the seats.
"We have conducted these elections by hard work and wherever there is a discrepancy, we will expose it," he said.
Rehman added that results in some UCs have been forcibly altered.
Earlier, speaking during the Geo News programme "Geo Pakistan", Naeem showed an inclination to form an alliance with other political parties if there would be a need for that.
Rehman said that his party wants to manage the municipality independently, however, it is open to holding talks with another party for an alliance.
When asked if he would join the PTI or Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Naeem said that he will hold talks with all the parties for the betterment of Karachi.
"We will try to talk to other parties as we have a mandate, so everyone should respect our mandate," he said.
Naeem also said that the JI emerged as the number one party through hard work, adding that they have received votes from all those belonging to other political parties.
Speaking about the local body election results, the JI president said: "As per our calculation, we have won in over 90 union councils (UCs) and the number is likely to increase to over 100."
Naeem also regretted the efforts made to reduce his party seats, saying that it should not have been done.
Talking about the future plans for the city, the JI chief said that the first thing his party wants to do is clean Karachi. He said that he will have to talk about the K-IV water project, revise the mass transit, and solve the problems surrounding the sewerage system.
"We will require the help of federal and provincial governments," he added.
Speaking about the low voter turnout, Naeem said that the voter list is already compromised.
"About 30%-35% of people cannot vote where they live and many were not even sure if the elections will be held or not due to their continuous postponement," he said.
Senior PTI leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi questioned the slow dispersal of results despite the lower turnout, saying that his party rejects the election results.
Naqvi said that over 16 hours have passed since polling time but only 40 out of 246 results have been announced, adding that people's lack of interest in the system and democracy is the reason behind the low turnout.
On a question about siding with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) on delimitations and voter list issues, the PTI leader said that the last local government's tenure ended in September 2020, and they could not wait any longer for issues to be resolved. He added that the PTI had reservations but wanted the LG polls to proceed.
He added that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is opposed to them. PTI is at the peak of its popularity, and the LG polls' results do not reflect that, Firdous added.
On a question about a possible coalition with the PPP or JI, the PTI leader said that they would not form a coalition with anyone. He termed the PPP an anti-Karachi and anti-Sindh party, adding that he would personally advise his party to back JI if it emerges as the leading party.