Hafiz Naeem left his Sindh Assembly seat for PTI's mandate

Karachi Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Hafiz Naeem has left his provincial Sindh assembly seat PS-129 over alleged elections 2024 rigging. Hafiz Naeem left his Sindh Assembly seat, claiming he did not win the seat; instead, PTI backed an independent candidate who won it.

Hafiz Naeem made this announcement at a press conference in Karachi. He stated that his PTI-backed opponent won the seat. So, he did not want a charity seat. Hence, he would return the seat while continuing the legal and political battle to reclaim all seats that his party had lost due to rigging.

پہلے ہی کہا تھا جو جیتے اسے جیتنے دو جو ہارے اسے ہارنے دو، میری جیتی ہوئی سیٹ پر فارم 45 کے مطابق پی ٹی آئی جیتی ہے۔ لہذا اپنے ضمیر اور اپنی جماعت کی اخلاقی روایات کے مطابق اپنی صوبائی اسمبلی کی سیٹ چھوڑنے کا اعلان کرتاہوں اور مطالبہ کرتاہوں کہ ہمیں ہماری ساری جیتی ہوئی سیٹیں… pic.twitter.com/qhd0eLe8No
— Naeem ur Rehman (@NaeemRehmanEngr) February 12, 2024

Furthermore, Hafiz said you cannot change people’s minds through fake mandates. He doesn’t want a seat in charity. It should be given to the rightful owner.

According to Hafiz Naeem, the PTI candidate gained more votes. Therefore, he accepted the victory and mandate of PTI. He has the grace to embrace the victory of the independent candidate on PS-129.

The JI leader further stated that he would not take oath as an MPA for the seat PS-129. According to Form 45, the PTI-affiliated candidate Saif Bari won PS-129. Hence, Saif should take oath on that seat. He claimed to have received 26,000 votes on ECP’s Form 47, but he got 30,464 votes based on Form 45.

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Apart from PS-129, Hafiz Naeem vowed to launch a struggle to reclaim the JI winning seats. He demanded election results based on Form 45 and claimed to gain all seats that JI won.

Hafiz Naeem also mentioned that returning the seat would be a slap in the face of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He also criticized the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for celebrating the “fake mandate.”

He stated that the electoral body intentionally did not provide Form 45 to the massive polling agents. The worst kind of rigging was done using Form 47. The offices of the returning officers closed from all sides, making it impossible for them to access them.