Polling pains: PTI elections delayed yet again

Brawls in Multan and Muzaffargarh continue to dog elections.

MULTAN:

Tempers ran hot at the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s second attempt to hold party elections here on Saturday. Several strong groups are contending for top party slots at the political hub of southern Punjab. The differences were expressed by throwing chairs and hurling abuse at each other.

The elections were organised at Shah Rukne Alam Colony. They had been delayed last month on February 8 following a brawl between party workers. For the second time, the main contestants, Ijaz Janjua and Khalid Warraich, picked a fight in front of voters. Janjua said Warraich was not eligible to contest elections, even vote, because he was registered as a voter in Union Council-11 and a court had issued a stay order regarding his election.

A scuffle between party workers in the previous elections in Union Councils 10 and 11 had resulted in a deadlock.

Janjua told The Express Tribune that Warraich’s supporters had manhandled him but he would not go to the police, “To save my party the embarrassment,” he said. “They cannot stomach defeat which is why Warraich’s supporters have been attacking my supporters,” said Janjua.



Warraich denied the allegations saying, “He [Janjua] is like my brother... he should not bring the party into disrepute by accusing me of ordering attacks on his supporters.” The election would not be affected by half-baked conspiracies, he added.

Supporters of the two candidates were seen chanting slogans against each other and openly bribing voters.

Some of the party workers told The Express Tribune that the candidates’ supporters had thrown chairs at each others, injuring as many as 20 people.

PTI Election Commissioner Masood Sadiq had an interesting comment on the incident. He said the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz leaders in Multan had arranged for the ruckus to sabotage their peaceful elections. “They have been sending their ‘agents’ to disrupt the process. Despite that, over 4,000 votes were cast today,” said Sadiq.

Shahbaz Malik, a party worker, said, “We do not want our party to be run by self-serving industrialists and opportunists.”

Some of the party workers were seen wrecking and torching vehicles owned by opposing candidates and their supporters. They lashed out at each other for several hours before a group turned on the ballot box. They broke the box, tore some of the ballots and threw others to the wind. Sadiq, the election commissioner, was also said to have been attacked. Officially, the elections have been postponed till further announcement.

As many as 290 candidates are running for 138 slots at the district level. As many as 4,240 union council office bearers are eligible to cast votes at the district level.

Skirmishes among rival groups weren’t confined to Multan. Elections further in Muzafargarh were postponed for the third time on Friday.

Rival candidates and their workers had accused each other of rigging the election and attacking each other’s supporters. Major candidates in the district include Nawabzada Ahmad Khan and Shahid Mustafa Qureshi.

Qureshi accused Khan of stealing ballot papers before a brawl broke out between their supporters. However they managed to settle the matter later.

Qureshi was declared district president, Khan and Sheikh Mazhar vice presidents and Kamran Khakwani general secretary of the party’s district organisation.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2013.