Deputy Convenor of the Co-ordination Committee of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and MQM's candidate from NA-249 Dr Farooq Sattar on Saturday claimed that worst kind of rigging was being done in polling stations of NA-248 and NA-249. Addressing a press conference, Farooq Sattar accused that elements involved in the Lyari gang war had "forcibly taken away ballot boxes and ballot papers" and said that they returned them at polling stations "after stamping ballot papers".
Farooq Sattar said that polling was delayed by "at least three hours" at over 75 percent of polling stations because of unavailability of ballot papers and ballot boxes. He said that the Election Commission and other authorities concerned should fix the responsibility for "this criminal negligence". He said that ballot boxes and ballot papers arrived "very late in constituencies" that "traditionally belonged to MQM".
"This is a clear indication that a conspiracy is being hatched to steal MQM's mandate." He said that polling at 119 out of 186 polling stations in NA-249 started after 12:30 pm. MQM's polling agents had been tortured and evicted from the polling stations, he claimed. He said that the polling process was also being slowed down by police and Rangers on various pretexts. This negated the holding of free and transparent elections. Member of the Co-ordination Committee Raza Haroon condemned firing on MQM workers in Nawabshah, in which at last one party workers was killed. He said that media should not "level allegations" against "any particular party" before the announcement of results.