JI rejects Karachi mayor election results, announces ‘black day’ on Friday

Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, the Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi emir who lost the mayoral elections to Pakistan People Party’s (PPP) Murtaza Wahab, has rejected the results, saying the party would observe “Black Day” on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi on Thursday, Hafiz Naeem claimed that the ECP played the role of the People’s Party’s B-team, asserting he would not accept this result.

He demanded a corruption-free system and stated that 31 people were abducted and were not allowed to participate in the polling, which he and his party would not accept.

Hafiz Naeem said the PPP damaged democracy with the help of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He termed it the “worst day for democracy” in the history of Sindh and Pakistan.

“It is our right to peaceful public protest, and we would raise their voice for the democratic right to have a genuine mandate,” the JI Karachi chief said, adding that they would not abandon the field. Instead, they would resist peacefully and take the matter to court if needed.

Hafiz Naeem emphasised that their fight was not against the People’s Party but against “robbery.”

He said the PPP had been in power for 15 years, had not delivered on their promises, and couldn’t fool the people of Karachi.

Earlier, JI chief Siraj-ul-Haq also announced to mark Friday as “Black Day” to protest against the alleged rigging in Karachi’s mayoral election.

“Black Day will be observed nationwide tomorrow against the controversial Karachi Mayoral Election. I appeal to every democrat to participate in tomorrow’s gathering,” the JI chief said in a tweet.

Earlier today, PPP’s Murtaza Wahab won Karachi’s mayoral elections, defeating JI’s Hafiz Naeem by 13 votes.

Wahab secured 173 votes, while Naeem Ur Rehman got 160.

Earlier, after being nominated as PPP’s mayoral candidate, Wahab, in a tweet, said, “I am a Karachiite - the city is in my veins & nothing would be of a greater honour for me but to work for the betterment of our great city.’’

The PPP leader pledged to deliver to the best of his abilities and ‘‘take the entire city forward, working with all stakeholders, political and administrative’’.

Wahab served as an administrator in Karachi from 2021 until his resignation in September last year.

He resigned after the Sindh High Court’s decision to temporarily restrict Karachi Metropolitan Corporation from collecting the Municipal Utility Charges and Taxes (MUCT) through K-Electric bills.

He was then serving as Special Assistant to CM Sindh.

Meanwhile, the deputy mayor candidates of the PPP and JI are Salman Abdullah Murad and Saifuddin.

In a tweet, former president Asif Ali Zardari congratulated all mayors and deputy mayors in Sindh.

‘‘The success of elected local representatives is the result of workers’ hard work,“ the PPP’s media cell quoted Zardari as saying.