The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh Monday selected an unelected candidate for the post of Karachi mayor and announced Murtaza Wahab — the spokesperson for the provincial government — as the party’s nominee for the top slot.
Elections for the Karachi mayor’s slot are scheduled to be held on June 15, as the PPP has become the single largest party with 155 members, including the reserved seats, in the 367-strong house.
Currently, no single party has a simple majority of 179 votes in the house, the count that is needed to ascertain who wins the coveted seat of the port city’s mayor. As per the latest statistics, the total number of the PPP, PML-N and JUI-F is 175.
On the other hand, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has emerged as the second largest party with total 130 seats, including the reserved seats, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) bagged a total 63 seats. The alliance between the two parties stands at 193. Apparently, the alliance has enough numbers to win the coveted seat but the PPP has been claiming that a “jiyala” will rule the metropolis this time.
