Results management issues overshadow peaceful polling day.

ISLAMABAD -- The second phase of local government elections in Sindh remained peaceful and relatively orderly, but was tainted by allegations of rigging by major political parties over delay in the announcement of results by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Voters in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions turned out variedly to elect more than 3,508 councillors in long-delayed local government (LG) elections on January 15.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQMP)'s boycott of the election appeared to have resulted in a decline in voter turnout in Karachi and urban Hyderabad, says the observation report released by Islamabad-based non-government Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) here on Thursday. 'Controversies over the quality of electoral processes do not augur well, particularly when the political parties are preparing for general elections that are constitutionally due by October 11, 2023.'

The observation report reads that many of these controversies stem from weaknesses in the legislative framework that governs elections, which need to be rectified through wide-ranging negotiations among all political actors coming together for electoral reforms irrespective of their political differences. Unless elections lead to political stability, the process of democratisation will continue to weaken and so will the public trust in democracy and its ability to improve the social and economic well-being of the people, it adds.

The report recommends that the Election Commission, at the same time, needs to open up to political actors and address their legitimate concerns through the regulatory space available to it under the Elections Act, 2017, to ensure truly 'inclusive' elections, minimising the eventualities of poll boycotts by major political parties in future.

Despite controversies and uncertainty over the conduct of elections, an impressive number of people turned out to vote in the elections in Badin, Jamshoro, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allah...