Party tickets the main concern as election bells start ringing

With the no-confidence motion on the horizon for the second time in a week, the country will likely head towards an election sooner or later given the political uncertainty; now the country’s political parties have a formidable task on hand - who gets the ticket?

The reinstated Prime Minister, owing to a Supreme Court decision, Imran Khan, recently announced that he would give tickets to ideological activists within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) instead of opting for ‘electables’ in the upcoming elections. Lahore is of particular importance to all who have a stake in the election due to the city having 14 general seats in the National Assembly and 30 general seats in the Punjab Assembly. However, a challenge awaits those who get the PTI ticket from Lahore, as in the 2018 elections, 95 percent of the PTI ticket holders in the city, who won the national and provincial seats, had a margin of victory on average of 9,000 votes; whereas in contests where the PTI lost, the margin was more than 21,000 votes on average.

PTI Lahore President, Sheikh Imtiaz, while talking to The Express Tribune about the challenge that lies ahead, claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) had actually maintained a hollow illusion of its superiority over Lahore for four decades. “We have a strong presence on the streets and whenever our Chairman, Imran Khan, calls out people they come out in throngs,” Imtiaz said matter of factly. This street power was the reason that PTI would sweep the elections whenever they are announced, as per Imtiaz. “We had excellent performances in 2018 but admittedly we also made mistakes. However, we have learnt from them and now we will give tickets to the youth.”

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However, Imran Goraiyah, spokesperson of PML-N central leader and opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz, was of the view that a rude awakening awaited PTI. “What our opposition does not realize is that Lahoreites love what Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif have done for the city and the province,” Goraiyah remarked. When asked about who the party would give tickets to, Goraiyah said that the final decision was up to the senior leadership. “Rest assured though that the PML-N candidates in Lahore will be very strong. We will show everyone that this city is still faithful to the PML-N.”

Head of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, when inquired about who would fare better if an election was immediately called, said that people’s decision on who to vote for was dependent on factors like back-breaking inflation. He was of the view that while the PTI’s narrative of a foreign conspiracy might stutter in the near future; it was actually people leaving the party’s ranks which would pose significant challenges. “However, Imran Khan, is skilled at building a narrative and galvanizing his support base; so the PTI will do its utmost to carve out a win in the elections,” Mehboob said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2022.