PTI Boycotts Senate Elections In Sindh Citing Widespread Rigging

Sindh [Pakistan]: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to boycott the upcoming Senate elections in Sindh, citing what it alleges to be widespread rigging in the electoral process, Geo News reported.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh expressed concerns over the integrity of the Senate elections, saying, “Senate elections are being won through rigging.”

He highlighted the exclusion of PTI-backed candidates from the Sindh Assembly, suggesting foul play in the election results documented in Form 47, as reported by Geo News.

Sheikh noted that despite six PTI-backed candidates being in contention for Senate seats in Sindh, they have opted to boycott the elections. He further criticised the incumbent government, accusing it of electoral malpractice and asserting, “The incumbent government is going to be buried in a mass grave.”

The decision to boycott comes after 14 candidates withdrew their nomination papers for the Senate elections in Sindh, potentially paving the way for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to secure uncontested victories, particularly in the women’s reserved seats.

The PPP has nominated a slate of 11 candidates for the Senate elections, including Syed Masroor Ahsan, Syed Kazim Ali Shah, and Rubina Qaimkhani. Meanwhile, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has fielded just one candidate, Amir Waliuddin Chishti, for the general seat.

Independent candidates, supported by the PTI, such as Mehjabeen Riaz and Mir Raja Khan Jakhrani, were also initially in the running but have since withdrawn from the electoral race.

The polling for seven general seats, including those for technocrats, women, and minorities, is scheduled to take place at the Sindh Assembly on April 2 from 9am to 4pm, Geo News reported.