Cold weather to dampen election day turnout

In about two months time the country will have a general election and while there is no certainty about which political party will come out on top, it is certain that February will be exceptionally cold and snowy for most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), which will be a challenge for voters and election hopefuls alike.

Although elections are long overdue for K-P, as the province has been without an elected government since January of this year, there is a growing concern that the polls being conducted on 8th of February 2024 will result in low voter turnout in the hilly regions of the province, due to the weather.

“During the winter our daily life is already adversely impacted. Hence going to cast a vote when roads are blocked due to the snow does not seem realistic,” opined Jamina, a resident of the Bumburet area of Chitral district.

“However, I do feel that people will go to vote just not in the same numbers as they usually do,” she added.

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Safat Khan, a resident of the Utror area in the Kalam Valley, which is some 200 kilometres away from Chitral, agrees with Jamina. “Snowfall season in the valley starts from December and concludes in the beginning of March.

During the snowfall period moving about is very hard as roads are blocked and are often not cleared for days on end,” informed Khan. “I do not understand why they would conduct elections during peak winter. The people of the valley would love to vote but it seems like they will be hindered by the weather,” he regretted.

It is pertinent to mention that Kalam’s temperature has already dropped below 0 degree celsius since the start of December and snowfall has become frequent.

The same is the case for the Batakundi area of Naran, which falls in the Hazara division and is about 350 kilometres away from Kalam. In Batakundi the mercury has dropped to as low as -9 degree celsius since the start of the month.

Mohsin, who lives in Batakundi, told the Express Tribune that given the severity of the cold their family was going to move to Abbottabad for a few months.

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“We make the move every year because the whole area becomes uninhabitable during the snow,” said Mohsin. When asked as to how he would cast his vote in the upcoming elections, Mohsin remarked that he had not thought about that yet.

“If people from our tehsil and other nearby villages are allowed to cast their vote in Mansehra or Abbottabad that would be nice otherwise thousands of residents of our area will not be able to vote at all,” he said.

Nevertheless, it is not just residents of far flung areas and hilly regions that are distraught at the possibility of not being able to cast a vote, election hopefuls are similarly worried.

Parvez Khattak, former chief minister of K-P and Chairman of the newly formed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), stated: “The adverse impact of snowfall in Hazara Division and in the Malakand Region, encompassing key areas like Swat, Kalam, Dir, and Chitral will significantly hamper the electoral process, leading to low voter turnout.”

“I would urge the Election Commission of Pakistan to reconsider the date and postpone elections until April,” suggested Khattak.

However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) senior leader, Atif Khan, disagrees. “Weather cannot be used as an excuse to run from the elections.

The Election Commission should ensure high voter turnout by making arrangements for clearing snowy roads and providing transport to polling stations,” asserted Khan while talking to the Express Tribune.