MQM-P demands govt to cancel LG polls, conduct afresh

This passage describes a press conference held by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in which the party demanded that the government cancel the Local Government (LG) polls that were held on January 15 and conduct new free, fair and transparent voting. The party's Deputy Convener, Wasim Akhtar, expressed concern that the results of the election had not been released four days after the polls and questioned the delay. He also criticized the Free and Fair Election Network for reporting that the elections were rigged and the Sindh government for its loose conduct of the elections. He expressed concern that if the LG polls were rigged on such a large scale, it would raise concerns about the integrity of the general elections which are due in 2023. He also criticized the Election Commission of Pakistan for not addressing repeated appeals made by the party and claimed that the elections had been postponed multiple times without correcting delimitation of constituencies. He also claimed that attempts were being made to increase voter turnout after the polls, and highlighted that the turnout was low because MQM-P boycotted the polls. He said that his party would approach the court against the alleged pre-poll rigging in the Local Government elections.