Murtaza Wahab new Karachi mayor

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Murtaza Wahab was elected the Karachi mayor on Thursday as he secured 173 votes in total to beat the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) candidate Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman who secured 161 votes.

The results have not officially been announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The PPP announced the victory of Murtaza Wahab without waiting for the official results to be announced.

Murtuza Wahab has become the youngest mayor of Karachi and the maiden mayor of the PPP.

Meanwhile, the Jamaat-e-Islami has written a letter to the chief election commissioner claiming that 29 members of the PTI were abducted prior to the election and they were barred from participating in the voting.

In the letter, the JI said that the election commission failed to ensure attendance of all members. It demanded that the election process should be stopped and declared null and void.

Meanwhile, PPP Co-chairman and former president Asif Al Zardari has congratulated Murtaza Wahab on being elected the mayor of Karachi

“The success of the elected local representatives is the result of the hard work of the workers,” he said congratulating all elected mayors, deputy mayors district councils and town chairmen and deputy chairman in Sindh.

“Keep your office doors open to the public,” Zardari told the newly elected local government representatives.

The mayoral elections were being held at the Arts Council of Pakistan under the ECP in the presence of all elected and selected members who cast their ballot through show of hand.

After the election for the mayor slot, the polls for the deputy mayor will take place in a while.
The PPP has fielded Salman Abdullah and the JI has pitched Saifuddin for the deputy mayor slot.

Meanwhile, Arslan Islam Sheikh was elected the mayor of Sukkur for the second time, and Muhammad Arshad Mughal was elected the deputy mayor of Sukkur, both unopposed.

Sardar Mir Yaqub Rizvi was elected chairman of the Rohri Municipal Committee, Sukkur. PPP candidate Syed Kamil Haider Shah was elected the chairman of the District Council Sukkur, unopposed.

In Tharparkar, Ghulam Hyder was elected chairman and Kamala Bai was elected the vice-chairmen, both uncontested.

In the Tharparkar Town Committee, Murtaza Bajir was elected the chairman and Muhammad Ayub vice-chairman.