Muzaffargarh district: Independents can make their presence felt, pundits say

Over 7,000 policemen to secure district

MULTAN: A neck-and-neck competition is expected between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and independent candidates in the forthcoming local government elections in Muzaffargarh.

According to pundits, independent candidates have a strong chance of making their presence felt in the polls slated to be held on December 5.

While the main contest is expected to take place between the PML-N and independent candidates, the PTI has also been making spirited effort to emerge victorious in the polls. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has fielded candidates in only 23 of the district’s 111 union councils, a district that was previously referred to as mini Larkana.  The influential families in the district include the Khars, the Dastis and the Durranis. The chief problems bedevilling residents in the region include poor infrastructure, low education standards and a paucity of employment opportunities.

Sabir, a voter, said most candidates had vowed to revamp citizens’ standard of living in their speeches. He said most residents had been left bereft of the Kissan Package. Sabir said the disbursement process was yet to start in the district. He claimed that the package had only benefited select farmers from Ahmad Mahanawala who were able to secure relief on the basis of nepotism. DCO Shaukat Ali told The Express Tribune that 1,374 polling stations had been set up across the district. He said a total of 3,886 polling booths had been established for the voters. Ali said the total number of voters in the district stood at 1,810,483. 823,761 of these were women, the DCO said.

Ali said the district was composed of nine municipal committees. He said 312 polling stations and 680 polling booths had been set up across the committees. Ali said 129 polling stations had been established exclusively for men and women each. He said another 54 polling stations would cater to both men and women voters. Ali said 353 polling booths had been earmarked for men and 327 for women. He said that the total number of voters across the committees stood at 291,329.

The DCO said district authorities had established a control room to monitor proceedings on polling day at the office of the DPO. He said all candidates had been requested to deposit all liscensed arms there.  In sub-district Kot Addu, 121 polling stations and 252 polling booths have been established for 17,493 voters across four municipal committees. In sub-district Muzaffargarh, 86 polling stations and 240 polling booths have been set up for 12,367 voters across two committees. In sub-district Jatoi, 57 polling stations and 133 polling booths have been established for 60,000 voters in two municipal committees. In sub-district Alipur, 48 polling stations and 55 polling booths have been set up for 21,258 voters across one municipal committee.

7,500 police personnel will be deployed on election day to secure the district. Additional contingents of rangers and the military will be posted at sensitive polling locales. 5,000 district administration volunteers will be deployed to help police ensure the safe passage of the polls.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2015.