Around 50% turnout seen in peaceful Peshawar

Election officials complain of lack of facilities at some polling stations

PESHAWAR: Making a mockery of the apex poll body’s code of conduct, activists and supporters of political parties were seen transporting voters to a polling station in the heavily-picketed streets of the walled city and its suburbs.

Vans and rickshaws rented by political parties could be seen roaming every street of the city to pick and drop voters at the polling station.

The main thoroughfares of the city were barren and very few vehicles could be seen plying on the main Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) and the Ring Road.

“I was not willing to cast my vote but my brother told me to go and vote for the best interest of the country,” said Mohammad Saboor a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) voter at a polling station on Charsadda Road.

Although the security arrangements appeared to be sufficient in the city, the polling staff was complaining about the lack of facilities such as water and ventilation at certain polling stations.

The polling process was slow which forced many voters to return home without casting their votes.



“Who cares about elections when the polling process is painfully slow and you are made to wait for an hour in this heat,” said a frustrated Muhammad Adeel who waited outside a government college on Dalazak Road where a polling station had been set up.

Voters also faced trouble in finding their polling stations, many only discovering they were at the wrong location after having waited in long queues.

Polling in the city had started at the stipulated time of 8am and continued without any break until 6pm in the evening.

Many voters, though, had gathered outside polling stations even before the gates opened. Law enforcement agencies had to keep the voters at a ‘safe’ distance of 50 to 100 metres from the polling station gates until it was time.

Every voter was frisked for cell phones, weapons and any sharp instruments that could possibly be used as a weapon inside the polling stations. Officials even confiscated lighters from the voters before letting them in.

The political parties camps for helping the voters in finding their votes location were stationed outside the polling station and the polling agents were provided with chairs inside the polling booths where they were witnessing each and every vote processed and polled.



“The polling day was very quiet and peaceful as compared to past elections,” said Shaukat Hayat, a government college teacher who was serving as a presiding officer at a polling station on Ring Road.

“No one tried to bother me or my staff but the voter turnout was comparatively low,” he said, noting that this was the sixth election he was officiating.

“In the beginning, voter flow was high but it dwindled in the afternoon,” he said, adding that his polling station had a total 1,200 registered votes and that they had seen 562 voters walk in by 4pm.

In the polling stations of urban areas of Peshawar, the turnout was around 50 per cent.

However, it appeared to be even lower in the suburbs where The Express Tribune visited.

The presiding officers, however, insisted that the flow of voters had increased by evening.

Food stalls set up near polling stations also attracted customers with traditional items such as Kabuli Pulao, chicken and Motta Chawal.

Following a directive from the ECP, men were not allowed in women polling stations with the police officers and army personnel deployed ensuring that.

The ECP teams were visiting polling stations to check for arrangement and the polling process. They were advising the presiding officers to ensure use of Result Transmission System for feeding results of their respective polling stations.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2018.