Hindu community is the largest minority registered in Sindh. PHOTO: FILE
If minorities’ votes were to affect the outcome of elections anywhere in Pakistan, it would be in eight of Sindh’s 13 districts.
According to ECP records the Hindu community is the largest minority registered in Sindh. But the trend continues all over Pakistan, and not just in Sindh alone. Collectively, all the minorities constitute 2.78 million registered voters. Experts believe that the fate of elections could be impacted substantially by the votes of minority communities in districts where they have a larger share of the total registered votes, but only if they decide to vote en bloc.
In Karachi (south), 81,589 of the registered voters are non-Muslim, which is eight percent of the total.
Hindus constitute the highest number of minorities’ votes in the country with 1.4 million registered voters, followed by 1.24 million Christians. There are some 115,966 registered Ahmadi voters who mostly reside in Lahore and Chiniot districts of Punjab.
Overall, in Chiniot and Lahore districts, there are 35,335 and 247,827 non-Muslim voters, respectively, constituting 6 per cent of the total registered voters.
Besides Hindus, Christians and Ahmadis, a number of Parsi, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish voters will also be exercising their statutory right to vote in the May 11 elections.
According to the Final Electoral Rolls of the Election Commission of Pakistan, there are 5,934 Sikh, 3,650 Parsi, 1,452 Buddhist and 809 Jewish voters registered in Pakistan who will be exercising their right to vote in the upcoming elections.
Minorities’ separate electorates were abandoned in the 2002 general elections, allowing them to contest on general seats, with 10 seats reserved for minorities in the National Assembly.
And yet, according to Free and Fair Elections Network Chief Executive Officer Mudassir Rizvi, general tickets are not awarded easily to minorities.
“No mainstream political party awards general seat ticket to minorities,” he said.
Rizvi added that in the areas where minorities form a majority among the total number of registered voters, such as the Umerkot district in Sindh, they traditionally vote for the mainstream political parties. It is the general perception of supposed individual benefits to be obtained from a party candidate that determines voting patterns for minorities in these regions.
However, separate voter lists are prepared for Ahmadis.
“They are singled out on the basis of religion,” said Rizvi, adding that all other minorities, such as Hindus and Christians, are included in the general lists.
The majority of Ahmadis have always boycotted elections. They refuse to be declared non-Muslims, and taking part in the polls would be an acceptance of this declaration.
“Yet, some groups among Ahmadis do take part and usually vote for mainstream parties,” said Rizvi.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2013.
COMMENTS (12)
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@Sindhi Pakistani My maternal grandparents immigrated to Larkana but were driven out like thousands of other Urdu-speakers out of the interior despite contributing immensely to Sindh.SO MUCH FOR REWARDING PEOPLE FOR LOYALTY. @ Sindhi Hindu My Mother and Uncles are fluent Sindhi speakers but that has got them nowhere.They are still 'Panahgirs'. @Raja Islam ARE YOU EVEN SINDHI? Any ways we don't need a certificate of Nationality from YOU. E.T Please don't censor my comments as I have a right to answer such misleading comments.
@Talha rizvi: The Urdu speaking population never integrated and still call themselves Mohajirs (by definition a refugee is a temporary resident seeking refuge in a host country during times of stress and will return home). Not only that the Urdu speaking population suffers from a superiority complex and believes that Pakistan was created for them and that the indigenous population is stupid and backward.
This is not a good comparison as Sindhi speaking non-muslims are still Sindhi whereas non Sindhi speakers are non Sindhis.
@Talha rizvi: every person who speak sindhi is sindhi for us. to answer your question if anybody calls himself/herself mohajir and not speak sindhi than he/she is not.
@Talha rizvi: In Sindh you will find Sindhi speaking Sindhis, Balochi speaking Sindhis, Seraiki speaking Sindhis, Punjabi speaking Sindhis, Pashto speaking Sindhis... then why not Urdu speaking Sindhis?
Talha just show love for Sindh, you will get much more love in return
Population of minority in Umerkot district is 49 per cent and in Tharparkar is 45 per cent, more than 80 per cent of them are those of UNTOUCHABLE, our political parties such as PPP, PML (f), PML (N) and MQM etc, do not award its general seats to them, nor does reserve seats, the obvious example of it is that PPP has gifted its three reserve seats to only one industrial Kohstani family. Same has done by other parties. This is totally injustice to deserving communities, no one voice for them.
@Sindhi Pakistani: Good to hear that.Now do you also consider the Urdu-speakers as citizens of Sindh or are they still outsiders?
Salute to all sindhis from heart,they truly represent the sprit of what being a sindhi means and they have given great sacrifices . KUDOS
@Omer: We have protested against the kidnapping of Rinkle Kumari. It is just that urdu language (conservative) media has not reported. I think English language media i.e. Tribune and Dawn have also talked about the protests by progressive and nationalist parties
"The majority of Ahmadis have always boycotted elections. They refuse to be declared non-Muslims, and taking part in the polls would be an acceptance of this declaration."
How long will this injustice continue? How long will Ahmedis be denied their rights? How can somebody accept to be Non Muslim when they are as much muslim as you and me. I just pray justice is served.May Allah Pak help us to set the wrong doings right. Ameen
@Sindhi Pakistani: Tell it to Mian Mithu
By adding to the above figures,the deeply disgruntled population of SHIAS, BARELVIS,and the followers of QAADRI would make the destinies of some politicians an interesting case for election forecasting.The PPP and NAWAZ's parties in the country should suffer more than the other two parties(PTI AND MQM) for their indifference to the killings of these less privileged populations.Their downfall,if it occurs could be attributed to the ill conceived policies of two individuals who have never used their brains if they had one.
Sindhi Hindus are not minorities, they are Sindhis like Muslims, Sikhs, Jains etc.