Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, chairman of the Jamaat-i-Islami Karachi, surrendered a Sindh Assembly seat he won in the February 8 elections due to suspected cheating on Monday.
According to the preliminary results announced by Pakistan’s Election Commission for the February 8 general elections, Naeem won the PS-129 seat (Karachi Central VIII) with 26,296 votes.
Muaz Muqaddam of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) came in second place with 20,296 votes.
The move comes a day after the party conducted sit-ins at eight different major places in Karachi to protest suspected election cheating.
Hafiz Naeem had previously asserted that his party’s and independent candidates had received the majority of votes in Karachi’s national and provincial assembly constituencies, but the MQM-P was forced on the city.
On Saturday, the JI demonstrated outside the Sindh Election Commission’s headquarters, joined by supporters of the PTI and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan.
Addressing a news conference in Karachi today, an enraged Hafiz Naeem stated, “A PTI-backed independent candidate has won, and I will not accept this seat.”
“When I projected a difference of a few hundred votes, I requested my staff for each and every form [45]. When we looked, we saw that the ECP had cast less ballots for us, but because I did not succeed, I forfeit this seat,” he stated.
He went on to claim that PTI-backed independent candidate Saif Bari had won according to his team’s estimates, claiming that his votes had been “reduced to 11,000 from 31,000”.
According to the ECP, Bari garnered 11,357 votes.
In a subsequent post on the social networking site X, he stated, “Therefore, according to my conscience and the moral traditions of my party, I vacate my provincial assembly seat and demand that all seats we won be returned to us.”
In a television interview, Hafiz Naeem claimed that the votes cast for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in PS-129 were inflated from 6,000 to 20,000.
“I also say to the workers of MQM-P that if God has shown you the right path and your conscience speaks, then come before the nation and announce that ‘we have not won’.”
“They faced the worst defeat — all of them including Mustafa Kamal,” he claimed, pledging to demonstrate “each and every vote to show the fraud that has been committed with the nation” .
The JI leader remarked, “I am giving up my seat, and the seat that is ours should be given to us.” We will question the results of the seats that we know we won. We will not reclaim what we have lost.”
Recalling his promise to the public not to seek “even a single extra vote,” Hafiz Naeem stated, “People have voted for us and approved our vision [sic]. The city of Karachi supports JI, as well as me and my team, which I consider an honour.
“This seat of mine is a slap on the election commission’s face.” We don’t want this seat for charity. “Give us our rights,” he urged.
In an apparent allusion to the MQM-P, Naeem stated that candidates who received “3,000 to 4,000 votes were being imposed” on the nation.
Recognizing that some may not think his action was correct, he stated, “Even if they have erased us, they cannot erase us from people’s hearts.” We shall fight for the people in a democratic manner and stage peaceful demonstrations.”
The JI leader went on to say that the population “knew everything” because to social media, and that a “fake mandate” could not be imposed on the people.
He advocated for the annulment of Karachi’s election results and a new election. Calling on Pakistan’s Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa, to take note of the rigging claims, he said, “Chief Justice Sahib, where should the people go?”
PTI praises Rehman’s decision.
In response to Rehman’s decision, the PTI praised him, saying it anticipated “similar honesty” from other candidates.
“There is no existence of democracy without transparency,” it stated in a post on X.
PTI politician Taimur Khan Jhagra, who ran for a provincial assembly seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stated, “All we need is individuals like them to move the country forward. “Well done!”
He went on to say: “The more people like deputy commissioner Afaq Wazir dig their heels to cover their illegalities in changing the results on eight Peshawar seats, the more they are criminally implicating themselves.”
Maria Ghanchi