Low turnout marks election in NA-258
Only 20% of the area’s voters turned up to cast their ballots on Monday
Local residents seemed uninterested in electing their National Assembly representative as very few came to the polling stations to cast their votes. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
Proceeding at a slow pace, polling in the NA-258 by-election was uneventful, with only 20% of voters appearing to elect their National Assembly representative.
The seat fell vacant after the lone MNA of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) from Sindh, Abdul Hakeem Baloch, resigned after developing differences with the party leadership. Hakeem served as the state minister for railways and later for communication.
He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) this September and was subsequently awarded a ticket to contest the election again in a bid to reclaim the seat he lost while changing his political affiliations.
The constituency mostly comprises rural and coastal areas of Karachi and its demography is a melting pot of ethnicities - Baloch, Sindhis, Pathans, Kutchis and others including Bengalis, all with low-income backgrounds.
Abdul Hakeem and the PPP stronghold
The PPP maintained a strong grip on the constituency for a long time. The party's Sher Muhammad Baloch won the seat twice in 2002 and 2008. However, the party lost to PML-N's Hakeem in 2013 when it fielded a candidate other than Sher Muhammad. However, the PPP now seems to have regained its former stronghold.
PPP flags and banners were hung throughout the 50-square-kilometre area that stretched from Korangi Creek to Dhabeji and Hub Dam. Only PPP agents were found at the polling stations. The other parties' agents either did not show up, or they had little presence at the polling stations.
Though the constituency remains underdeveloped, neglected and deprived of even basic necessities in some parts despite the PPP's longtime rule, most people seemed least bothered by their living situations.
A jubilant PPP worker, who identified herself as Zubaidi Baji, admitted that the party does not serve its voters well, she was adamant that, come what may, the workers would continue to sacrifice in the name of their slain leader, Benzair Bhutto.
Regarding why voters would be willing to re-elect Hakeem, who failed to serve them well during his first three-year stint, another PPP worker, Muhammad Nadeem, was sure that this time would be different. "The PML-N government did not sanction him funds to spend in his constituency. That's why he resigned," he theorised.
Besides Hakeem, candidates of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Jamiat Ulema Islam - Fazl, Sunni Tehreek, Pasban-e-Pakistan, Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party and 10 independents initially vied for the seat. The MQM boycotted the election and the PTI announced to withdraw its candidate, leveling allegations against the PPP-led Sindh government of planning to rig the polls.
PTI candidate contests
The PTI candidate, Hanif Bangash, still contested the election and his party workers were seen at their elections camps actively helping voters finding their polling station through the 8300 SMS service. The party leadership, however, disowned him for taking part in the polls and insisted that action will be taken against him for this.
A PTI polling agent at the Government Boys Primary School in Lalaabad, Ahmed Ali, explained that the pull-out decision by the party was just a misunderstanding, which was later cleared up during a meeting between Bangash and party leadership.
Despite few chances of Bangash's success, Ali seemed hopeful that they would bring a change, as his party was pledging to do. He criticised the PML-N, PPP and Hakeem in particular for doing politics for his own sake. "He was minister for communication. He could have at least made roads in his constituency, if he really cared about the people he took votes from."
Peaceful polling
No untoward incident was reported during the day, as contingents of police and Rangers were deployed at polling stations across the constituency. According to Election Commission of Pakistan data, a total 408,613 voters were registered in the constituency and 287 polling stations, including separate stations for males, females and combined, were set up.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2016.
Proceeding at a slow pace, polling in the NA-258 by-election was uneventful, with only 20% of voters appearing to elect their National Assembly representative.
The seat fell vacant after the lone MNA of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) from Sindh, Abdul Hakeem Baloch, resigned after developing differences with the party leadership. Hakeem served as the state minister for railways and later for communication.
He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) this September and was subsequently awarded a ticket to contest the election again in a bid to reclaim the seat he lost while changing his political affiliations.
The constituency mostly comprises rural and coastal areas of Karachi and its demography is a melting pot of ethnicities - Baloch, Sindhis, Pathans, Kutchis and others including Bengalis, all with low-income backgrounds.
Abdul Hakeem and the PPP stronghold
The PPP maintained a strong grip on the constituency for a long time. The party's Sher Muhammad Baloch won the seat twice in 2002 and 2008. However, the party lost to PML-N's Hakeem in 2013 when it fielded a candidate other than Sher Muhammad. However, the PPP now seems to have regained its former stronghold.
PPP flags and banners were hung throughout the 50-square-kilometre area that stretched from Korangi Creek to Dhabeji and Hub Dam. Only PPP agents were found at the polling stations. The other parties' agents either did not show up, or they had little presence at the polling stations.
Though the constituency remains underdeveloped, neglected and deprived of even basic necessities in some parts despite the PPP's longtime rule, most people seemed least bothered by their living situations.
A jubilant PPP worker, who identified herself as Zubaidi Baji, admitted that the party does not serve its voters well, she was adamant that, come what may, the workers would continue to sacrifice in the name of their slain leader, Benzair Bhutto.
Regarding why voters would be willing to re-elect Hakeem, who failed to serve them well during his first three-year stint, another PPP worker, Muhammad Nadeem, was sure that this time would be different. "The PML-N government did not sanction him funds to spend in his constituency. That's why he resigned," he theorised.
Besides Hakeem, candidates of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Jamiat Ulema Islam - Fazl, Sunni Tehreek, Pasban-e-Pakistan, Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party and 10 independents initially vied for the seat. The MQM boycotted the election and the PTI announced to withdraw its candidate, leveling allegations against the PPP-led Sindh government of planning to rig the polls.
PTI candidate contests
The PTI candidate, Hanif Bangash, still contested the election and his party workers were seen at their elections camps actively helping voters finding their polling station through the 8300 SMS service. The party leadership, however, disowned him for taking part in the polls and insisted that action will be taken against him for this.
A PTI polling agent at the Government Boys Primary School in Lalaabad, Ahmed Ali, explained that the pull-out decision by the party was just a misunderstanding, which was later cleared up during a meeting between Bangash and party leadership.
Despite few chances of Bangash's success, Ali seemed hopeful that they would bring a change, as his party was pledging to do. He criticised the PML-N, PPP and Hakeem in particular for doing politics for his own sake. "He was minister for communication. He could have at least made roads in his constituency, if he really cared about the people he took votes from."
Peaceful polling
No untoward incident was reported during the day, as contingents of police and Rangers were deployed at polling stations across the constituency. According to Election Commission of Pakistan data, a total 408,613 voters were registered in the constituency and 287 polling stations, including separate stations for males, females and combined, were set up.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2016.