Karachi mayor election delay sows discontent.

The local government elections in Karachi recently concluded, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerging as the winner with 93 seats, followed by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) with 86 seats and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) coming in third with 40 seats. However, neither party has the majority required for the city s mayoral slot. As a result, the PPP and JI have to form an alliance with each other or the JI has to shake hand with the PTI in order to appoint a mayor of choice.

Despite this, an amendment to the Sindh Local Government Act of 2013 now requires only a simple majority to table a no-confidence motion, making it so that the elected mayor would not have any job security. Controversies marked the local body polls as in every other election, however, the results have left the political parties in Karachi with a challenge in terms of forming a stable government with a clear majority.

The elections for the mayorship of the country's biggest city and economic hub faced long delay as the political uncertainty grew with each passing day.

The delay of the Karachi mayor election has caused frustration among citizens, political parties and candidates as they had been preparing for the election for months. Additionally, the delay has raised concerns about the transparency and fairness of the electoral process as some parties have accused the ECP of bias and manipulation. It is also having an impact on the city s governance. This has resulted in a vacuum of leadership, which has hindered the city s capacity to address important issues such as infrastructure development, transportation, and public services.

The local government elections in Karachi were held on Jan 15 - two and a half years after the local government in Karachi was abolished on Aug 30, 2020. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) grabbed 91 seats out of 229, while Jamaat-e-Islami won 85 seats, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could bag 42 seats. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) won 7, 2 and one seat respectively.

The commission compiled the results of the chairmen and vice chairmen elections in 229 union councils (UCs), while the results of six UCs have been withheld. Hearing on six seats will be heard by the ECP and elections could not be held on 11 seats due to the death of candidates.

Following the LG elections, the PPP and JI have been...