After an inordinate delay, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notified the victory of Jamaat-i-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman on Monday from a provincial assembly constituency in the city.
As per the ECP notification, Naeem clinched victory with 26,296 votes in the PS-129 Karachi constituency. Sources within the ECP indicated that the release of the victory notification followed the submission of Form C by the JI leader to the election watchdog.
According to election regulations, all candidates in contention are mandated to furnish their election expense returns on Form C within thirty days of the publication of successful candidates’ names. In February, Naeem declared his decision to relinquish his provincial assembly seat, PS-129, in Karachi, asserting that he did not secure the seat and it was instead won by a candidate backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
During a press conference, Naeem affirmed that his PTI-supported opponent clinched the seat, expressing his reluctance to retain a “charity” seat. Furthermore, he expressed his determination to reclaim all seats lost by his party due to electoral irregularities, pledging to persist in both legal and political endeavors.