Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh, for Local Bodies, Waseem Akhtar said on Thursday that it was not necessary the Local Bodies elections be held under the administrator or the nazim must be replaced before the polls. He was speaking at a seminar 'Is nazim's replacement really necessary before the elections?' arranged by the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) here. Waseem said that the proposal drew attention of authorities, who detected some misappropriations committed by nazims in violation of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO).
In this situation, he said, it was considered that they must be replaced by the administrators to reduce the chances of rigging in the forthcoming local bodies elections.
Lauding his party performance, the advisor said: "Muttehda Qaumi Movement (MQM) has a major contribution to promote the LB system."
Waseem Akhtar accused the city government of violating the SLGO and said, "I have personally observed some irregularities and corruption in the present bodies."
He said: "We have informed the President about the situation and now it is up to him (President) that either he replace the Nazim before the elections or let him continue working.
"The City government of Karachi has left rupees four billion liabilities to the coming body. Besides, the CDGK authority awards contracts to their favourite contractors without taking the city council into confidence," he maintained.
He said: "this is our responsibility to strengthen the local bodies system."
Wahab Kazmi opined that Nazims should not be replaced before the elections, because they would not be hurdle in the election process. The elections should be transparent, fair and without rigging because voters had a justification to elect their representatives, he added.
He said that the local bodies were elected on non-political basis, but it had been made political as all political parties were nominating their candidates to contest the polls.
CDGK City Council's Chief Presiding Officer Muslim Pervez said that the administrative government was not a democratic way. Pakistan, during the last 57 years, could not proceed to progress due to the administrative government, he added.
"During the last three-year period of the city government, people of Karachi have enjoyed peaceful environment, which also inspired the investors in different fields.
"Rate of unemployment has been decreased, hospitals were built to facilitate the ailing people, parks and roads have been built and entire work has been done on merit," he said.
PPI Chief Editor Fazal Qureshi suggested that the election could be held under the existing nazims.
Samina Ishaq of Pakistan Press Foundation presided over the programme.