Voting and celebrating: Twin cities record low office attendance after elections

Most office workers went to hometowns to cast vote

ISLAMABAD: Most of the private and government offices in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad witnessed low attendance as majority of the voters who left for their native towns to cast votes have still not  returned while political workers and supporters of the winning political parties are busy in victory celebrations. A large number of people living in the twin cities especially the capital have their home towns in different provinces and merely live in Islamabad as they have jobs here.

Many of them left for their native towns before election day and took leave till the weekend so that they can also spend quality time with their relatives too."I had to leave for Swat to cast my vote and it was difficult to return within a day after so I took some more days off taking advantage of the children’s summer vacations so we could  travel with a peace of mind and fulfill our national obligation of casting vote for a prosperous Pakistan,” Azam Khan, a   government employee said.

Speaking to the media he went on to say  "I could not manage to reach my hometown during the last election and I felt repentant and remorseful for not fulfilling my national duty. This time round, I decided to cast my vote whatever the circumstances to play my part in changing the destiny of our nation."

The cities also presented a deserted look on election day and the following day as most of the residents left for their hometowns.

Munnaza Ali, a lecturer at a university said, "I left for my native town, Khairpur before election day for casting vote and will spend time with my parents there. I will resume my duty at the college from Monday.” She said, "Social media played vital role in motivating the citizens to vote for the right candidates, educating them about the importance of their vote which is a good change.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2018.