Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), praised the “excellent performance” of his party’s candidates and supporters during the first round of the local body elections in Sindh.
The foreign minister claimed in a tweet sent on Monday from his Twitter account that people in Sindh rejected politics of hatred and division in favor of a peaceful, successful, and progressive nation.
Politics based on race or religion were rejected by the public. They selected Jinnah, he wrote on the social media platform.
Unconfirmed and unofficial election results showed that the PPP candidates had a lead over their rivals in the very turbulent first round of Sindh’s local body elections on Sunday.
After more than six years, the people of the province participated in by-elections in 14 districts with four divisions, with more than 11 million voters selecting their representatives for the municipal system of their cities and villages.
For 6,277 seats on 101 town committees, 23 municipal committees, 14 district councils, four municipal corporations, 11 town municipal corporations, and 887 union councils and union committees, as well as 21,298 candidates entered the race.
Many districts reported complaints about missing ballots, changed election symbols, and a delayed start to voting.
As many as 946 candidates were unopposed after voting began at 9 am and ended at 5 pm. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did, however, extend the deadline at polling places where voting was halted during the scheduled hours.
The polling continued to be marred by disorder, as had been expected previously, as Sukkur, Sanghar, and Tharpakar emerged as the flashpoints of violence, leaving two people dead and more than a hundred injured.
According to unofficial results, the PPP has won the municipal committee elections in the cities of Mithi, Kandhkot, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, and Ghotki. A majority of seats in the town committees of Kashmore, Khairpur, Khipro, Daur, Madeji, and Thull were won by candidates for Sindh’s ruling party.
