SUP complains of 'pre-poll rigging across Sindh' to ECP.

HYDERABAD -- Sindh United Party (SUP) secretary general Amir Ali Thebo has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone phase-I and II of the local government elections in Sindh to avoid a possible law and order situation.

In a letter he has sent to the ECP, a copy of which was emailed to Dawn on Tuesday, Mr Thebo claimed that the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party believed it would sweep the polls through rigging, which it intended to commit at all costs. This is against the law, equity and conduct of elections as guaranteed in the Constitution and is also violation of the Election Act, 2017.

He recalled that his party had in a press conference earlier suggested that elections in Sindh should be supervised by the judiciary or officers of good reputation from federal institutions like Wapda, National Highway Authority (NHA) and Pakistan Railways to avoid malpractices and ensure neutrality. But on the contrary, ECP delegated powers to Sindh government to hold elections, he regretted. As a result, he alleged, the Sindh government started pre-poll rigging.

Claims all DROs, ROs are partisan

Mr Thebo said that his party collected data which showed that the bureaucracy, right from the chief secretary and secretaries to lower level functionaries including revenue officials, police, teachers etc were supporting ruling party candidates.

'It's shocking to write that all district returning officers (DROs) and...