The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged as a clear winner in the by-elections held on Thursday across 18 districts of Sindh, including Karachi. The electoral battle was especially fierce in Karachi, where elections took place in six districts and one Cantonment Board. Out of the 11 available seats, the PPP won 9.
In Karachi’s municipal and cantonment elections, PPP claimed four chairman seats, one vice-chairman seat, and four councillor seats. The party also triumphed in the chairman seats for Malir and Korangi. Additionally, their candidate for vice-chairman in Landhi was successful.
The PPP also dominated the councillor races, securing four seats. The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) managed to win one councillor seat, while an independent candidate won another. The PPP claimed councillor seats in the municipalities of Malir and Ibrahim Hyderi. JI took one councillor seat in Manghopir, while an independent candidate won in the Cantonment Board elections.
In Karachi’s South district, the PPP completed a hat-trick. They won the chairman seat for UC 13 Clifton. PPP’s Karamullah Waqasi also took the vacant mayoral position in Karachi with 3,789 votes. JI’s Noorul Salam came second with 847 votes, while independent candidate Muhammad Babar Khan secured 659 votes.
With seven out of 11 seats secured, the PPP is firmly ahead in the elections. In the Central district’s Gulberg Town UC 5, JI’s Irfan Shah won the vice-chairman seat with 955 votes. PPP’s Muneeb Hassan came second with 592 votes, and an independent candidate, Nadir Khan, took third place with 351 votes.
In Hyderabad, unofficial results show that the PPP won two chairman seats and one vice-chairman seat. An independent candidate, Adnan Rasheed, was victorious in the vice-chairman race in the same district.
PPP also triumphed in Sukkur, where they defeated JUI to win a UC chairman seat. In Nawabshah, the PPP chairman candidates won all four available seats.
A total of 388 candidates competed for the 42 contested seats. However, 31 seats were already won unopposed, while four seats remain vacant due to incomplete documentation by some candidates.
In Karachi’s six districts, 85 candidates contested the available seats. The remaining 20 districts saw 303 candidates in the race. The distribution of contested seats included 10 in Karachi, 5 in Hyderabad, and 4 each in Nawabshah and Sukkur. Other districts like Tando Muhammad Khan, Larkana, and Shikarpur also had candidates vying for seats.
For security, the Election Commission designated 213 polling stations as highly sensitive and 50 as sensitive, out of a total of 274 across the province. This ensured a smooth and peaceful election process.
