SUJAWAL: Candidates from various political parties, including independent contenders, have raised serious concerns about the indifferent behavior of the District Returning Officer (DRO) in Sujawal. They allege that both the DRO and the District Election Commissioner exhibit biased attitudes favoring PPP candidates. During a press conference at the local press club in Sujawal, independent candidate Zeeshan Khawaja, along with Abdul Rahman Malah, Abdul Sattar Kehar, Lal-Bux Jatoi of PML-N, Syed Mumtaz Shah, and Ashraf Tahemm of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, among others, accused the DRO of supporting PPP candidates through various tactics.
Zeeshan Khawaja mentioned that when they went to the DRO office to seek information about the Election Commission of Pakistan’s code of conduct for the upcoming elections, none of the relevant authorities were available. “We waited for the district returning officer and the election commissioner, but neither of them arrived, and finally, we left the office after waiting for around two hours,” he claimed. Khawaja further added that state machinery was being employed to support PPP candidates.
Supporting Khawaja’s statement, the STP candidate stated that the District Chairman of Sujawal had received a notice a few days ago for openly supporting a PPP candidate, indicating the use of resources to favor the PPP. Abdul Rahman Malah asserted that opponents of PPP in district Sujawal were facing victimization, falling within the realm of pre-poll rigging. Syed Mumtaz Shah and Lal Bux Jatoi pledged not to withdraw their candidatures, vowing to challenge the stereotyped and ancestral politics in the coastal region. Abdul Sattar Kehar, whose brother Mahmood Kehar is a member of the PPP district council, criticized both PPP candidates and government machinery, alleging that government officials were being pressured to work for PPP candidates. They urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to take note of the DRO’s biased attitude towards candidates from other parties, except PPP.
