KARACHI , June 15, 2023: A tough contest is expected between PPP’s Mutraza Wahab and JI’s Hafiz Naeemur Rehman for the top slot of the Karachi mayor as all arrangements have been finalised for the election at the the Arts Council’s auditorium today.
The voting, that will start at 11am, will involve show of hands. Around 300 Rangers and police personnel have been deployed for securing the election venue.
The Interior Ministry on Wednesday approved the deployment of Rangers in Karachi for the elections of mayor and deputy mayor.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had written a letter to the Ministry of Interior for the provision of security for the elections of the mayor and deputy mayor of Karachi but it was denied. On the refusal of request by the Ministry of Interior, Election Commission Secretary Umar Hameed wrote to the Interior Secretary again, after which the Interior Ministry approved the deployment of Rangers in the port city.
The Interior Ministry said that the number of paramilitary troops and their deployment would be decided after consultation with the ECP officials.
PPP-JI and PTI number game
So far, no political party has managed to secure a majority as PPP gained 155 seats while the JI succeeded in winning 130 seats. PTI stands at the third spot with 63 seats.
A simple majority of 179 is required for a mayor to be elected. The PDM has 175 seats while the JI and the PTI have 193 seats combined.
After the alleged forward bloc in PTI Karachi, the number game for the mayor slot may change.
Sudden change in venue
As the scheduled election for mayor and deputy mayor in Karachi approached, a sudden venue change was made due to the adverse weather conditions resulting from cyclone Biparjoy.
Originally elections were to take place at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the election has been moved to the Arts Council auditorium. This decision was made by officials as a precautionary measure, taking into consideration the expected rainfall and the approaching cyclone Biparjoy which is quickly advancing towards Karachi.
Who is who?
There are two leading candidates for the mayoral top slots. Murtaza Wahab is a PPP candidate while Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman is Jamaat-e-Islami’s aspirant for the top position.
Murtaza Wahab
Wahab holds a B.Com degree from the University of Karachi, an LLB from the University of London and a Bar at Law from Lincoln’s Inn. He has served as an advocate of the High Court of Sindh and held several advisory roles in the Sindh government, including adviser on law, information, anti-corruption, environment and coastal development.
He is currently an adviser on the law to the Sindh CM and the spokesperson of the Sindh government. Wahab was briefly a senator and ran as a PPP candidate from PS-111 in the 2018 provincial elections but was defeated by PTI’s Imran Ismail, who later became the governor of Sindh.
He is son of late Fouzia Wahab who served as information secretary to the PPP.
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman is the president of the JI’s Karachi chapter and holds a civil engineering degree from NED University and a master’s degree from Karachi University in Islamic history. He has been a member of JI since 2000 and was appointed as the ameer of the JI Karachi chapter in 2013.
He is also the President of the Al-Khidmat Karachi chapter, an NGO associated with JI. Water shortage and drainage issues are of significant importance to him, and he is committed to seeing the K-IV project to completion. He has been a vocal critic of the privatisation of public institutions such as KE and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.