KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) clinched a landslide victory in the first phase of Saturday’s local government elections in 14 Sindh districts, winning 2,189 seats, it was emerged on Monday.

The Jamait Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) also fared well and finished as a runner up after bagging 64 seats. The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) could win 43 seats. However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) showed a dismal performance and only 13 of its candidates returned successful.

The PPP made a clean sweep in Kandhkot where 15 of its candidates won on 16 wards of municipal committee.

In Tharparkar, too, the PPP contestants won elections in 20 union committees out of 32 union committees.

In Mirpurkhas, the PPP bagged 14 seats. In Shikarpur, PPP remained successful on 27 UCs, while in Umerkot, 8 of the PPP candidates remained successful.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon while congratulating the PPP over its landslide victory said that people rejected all the anti-Bhutto elements, adding that the opposition parties were finding no place to hide.

However, the elections were marred by violence, firing, scuffles, kidnapping of polling staff, theft of election material and deaths of two people. All the opposition parties have rejected the polls.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazlur Rehman Group (JUI-F) spokesman Aslam Ghori alleged the opponents for torturing their candidates and workers while the ECP did not play its role in the polls.

Expressing severe concerns over the incidents of violence in the province, MQM-P senior leader and former Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar demanded the ECP stop the ongoing election process immediately.

PTI’s senior leader Ali Haider Zaidi warned that the Sindh government and the ECP would be responsible if the situation worsened in the province.