PPP springs 'surprise' in Karachi polls.

KARACHI -- The results of local bodies polls in Karachi and Hyderabad that came out after a delay of almost 29 hours, surprised many on Monday as Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged victorious from both cities.

While the party more or less swept polls in Hyderabad, it was a close contest in Karachi where Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) gave a tough time to PPP that rules Sindh.

Even after the complete results for Karachi were announced, question marks over the post-voting electoral process persisted with contesting parties and candidates casting doubts over delayed results, non-availability of required documents to polling agents and a slow response from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to the complaints.

Official results

According to the results announced by ECP, the PPP secured 94 seats in Karachi, including one elected unopposed. The JI won 86 seats, followed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) with 40 seats.

Pakistan Muslim League-N bagged seven seats, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam three, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) two, Independent candidates three and one seat went to the Muttahida QaAuAmi Movement-Haqeeqi.

With a total of 246 union councils (UC) in seven Karachi districts, elections were held on 235 on Jan 15. The voting in the 10 remaining constituencies was postponed due to deaths of candidates over the past few months, while in one constituency the PPP's candidate had returned unopposed.

In Hyderabad, the PPP has won 76 seats, PTI 37, Independents eight, TLP two and JI one, as per the ECP's data.

The results of 28 seats are awaited.

The total number of seats won by the PPP stood at 107 as the party also got its candidates elected unopposed on 31 seats.

Out of 160 total seats, polling in Hyderabad was held on 123 seats to elect chairmen and vice chairmen. The polling in six UCs was postponed due to the deaths of candidates.

'Doubts'

The polling in Karachi on Sunday remained peaceful by and large with sporadic reports of violence.

However, suspicions were raised as official results from the ECP, which continued pouring till midnight, came to a sudden stop. It took the commission hours to restart the process.

The situation attracted a strong reaction from the opposition parties who accused the ECP of 'conniving with the ruling PPP' to forge results.

'The PPP must accept the people's mandate and stop engineering the results,' JI Karachi emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said.

'We have won over 100 seats. Last night we were provided forms 11 and 12...