LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) has only 350,000 members who are eligible to vote, despite its claims that the party’s registered members in Pakistan exceed 10 million, sources familiar with the matter revealed.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, PTI’s Central Information Secretary, Shafqat Mehmood, had claimed on October 25 that around 7 million PTI members will participate in the intra-party elections through the Short Message Service (SMS), scheduled from November 2 till the end of December.
All PTI members were asked to send an SMS on the official Election Commission of Pakistan number 8300 and confirm whether their vote was registered and then subsequently send an SMS on 80022, the PTI SMS group.
After the verification process, it was revealed that only 350,000 members were eligible to vote. In the aftermath of this setback, the PTI decided to hold its elections only in the Islamabad Capital Territory at first, sources said.
In August 2012, PTI had said its membership in Pakistan exceeded 10 million members, making it the largest political party in the country.
Party leaders hoped that the number would translate into votes at the general elections. It is pertinent to mention that PPP had won the last elections with approximately 10.5 million votes.
To put things into perspective, Karachi had more seats than any other city in the national and provincial legislatures, and has a total of 6.6 million registered voters. Only 3.9 million could be verified. A glaring 2.7 million entries were false. Similarly, Lahore has a total of 3.7 million registered voters. Among them 2.1 million have been declared genuine and the remaining 1.6 million could not be verified, PTI leaders claimed.
Mehmood told The Express Tribune that so far, 7 million people have responded through the SMS service. He said that there were standards set by the PTI to verify those members who will send an SMS to make sure they are eligible voters and ask the local union council of the place where they resided to prevent duplications or any other error.
He added that in the first phase, elections will be held in the Islamabad Capital Territory, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the second. Elections in the other three provinces will be held in the third phase.
The elections will first be conducted at the union council level, followed by the elections at the district, regional, provincial and national levels.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2012.
COMMENTS (60)
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@Abdul Wadood: i think that u do not understand this it is just the figures about the people who have registered with the pti and they r eligible for vote.
Well it is quite stupid discussion . It is pti internal issue and it should not be disccssed at public forums. Votes we will find out let the time come
do you think we will trust your false reporting dear, keep doing this propaganda but we will still vote for PTI INSHALLAH. I AM LIVING IN UK AND WE COME TO PAK IN GENERAL ELECTION.
Shameful yellow journalism
@Farhan Khan:
If ET's figure are baseless, I challenge Shafqat Mehmood and PTI to sue Express Tribune; that is after IK and PTI are done with suing Khawaja Asif for defamation :D
Totally False figures, PTI has categorically denied as false. Check Shafqat Mehmood Tweet https://twitter.com/Shafqat_Mahmood
@Atif Yousufzai: @Abdul Wadood, Nobody responded to Mr. Abdul Wadood because of the stupid nature of the question he posted, ... but because I don't want you two to be in a state of denial, I would dare to clarify that the figures he quoting are the overall number of voters in the respective cities and not that of the PTI members/voters.
@zafar: true story
@Waqar: You are such a shame to my name :)
@zafar,
Please read my comments meant for "Zaffar" and take heart that they are earmarked for you as well. Conversely, you not only need Valium but a palm full of Burnol as well. How assidiously and where you rub Burnol, I'll leave it to your imagination.
Trust me, I am well aware that my existence is unknown to everyone and I am mighty content that way. Now just relax and stare at some of those life size posters of Imran Khan hanging around your walls and marvel at his "Beauty."
@Adnan Siddiqi: say what???? you sound confused :-S
@Adnan Siddiqi: ' most folks around here are aware of my...' ever heard of delusion of grandeur ? , I guess not. Who are you anyway. Please note that ' most folks' are unaware even of your existence. Calm down.
@Adnan Siddiqi: and by the way Stop using the grammatically heavy words in your comments-seems like u r trying to show off your English and this is very irritating, especially when we are not very keen to keep responding to your pathetic remarks
@Zain: who elected them
@Nabeel Khan,
Bro, you are committing a blasphemy of biblical proportions by equating the holy intra-party elections of PTI with the ones which are going to be held by mere mortals on planet earth and in which I, you and millions of other earthly creatures would cast their votes.
The PTI Intra-Party elections (If ever held in this lifetime) would dispense with the grotesque and sinful exercise of right to franchise through a vote which would be cast under a scorching sun across Pakistan. PTI Intra Party elections held at the picturesque Banigala Estate would also re-write the books on parliamentary democracy as such party elections in the future would be considered to be the real McCoy and the real elections to elect the public representatives would be boycotted.
@Adnan Siddiqi: I can sympathise with you-especially since you compare IK supporters to "sheep & cult"-seems lke you are losing faculty of Recognition between humans & the rest. You will have to agree that if all the "sheep & cult" did not vote on the day then the current forum activity means nothing. I hope you get your mind back and not be affected by what is coming your way in future. I hope you have the resources available to make your life meaningful-I certainly don't and thus looking DESPERATELY to IK to secure it for me and REST of Pakistan
No matter how many of PTI workers r eligible for VOTE, my question is when will intra party election to be held ????? any date ??? O sir jee hun tey general election hon lagey ney :)
At least PTI is credible enough to publish the details based on the updated findings.
If this is true then it is a major blow to PTI, how can they screw something like this up? i am not happy about all of this, could we get some feedback from headquarters of PTI?
Whats the source dude?
Stop being illogical critic...
@Zaffar:
These forums are a waste of time?!! My my dear Sir, until about a few months ago; y'all claimed cyberworld to be the fiefdom of CHANGE and PTI. Since the cult followers and sheep herd has started to see its own territory being forayed into by others, it has now started to disengage from the very forums that it hoped would be instrumental in propagating Soo-Nami
@ali: You are right, it was exposed BADLY because the report is a farce. If you bother to read beyond the headlines, the correspondent himself is saying that nearly 6 million voters in Karachi and Lahore have been confirmed. How can ET then go ahead and publish this article with a misleading heading. Hats off to people like YOU Ali, who don't even bother to read what is written and write badly written epithet to badly titled articles.
My husband will be very happy to hear this news. He has been having nightmares all night about 10m PTI members. Even rubbing oil on his bald head doesn't seem to help. I just hope he doesn't read the comments which actually clarify a lot of the misconceptions in the article.
brother it was not imran khans jalsa. he just went there. every year on the night of 13 august it is held in "lal havely" i was there at that time although it was not his "JALSA" but believe me there was a Tsunami...
Can the writer reveal his source of Information ?? just baseless..
PML-N already had elections early this year and elected all office bearers
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=100772
I have got just a few liners to add here as most of the folks around here are well aware of my comical propensities when it come to the party of Change. I sincerely think that the figure quoted by ET is based on false assumptions and faulty sources. One should realize that PTI as a party not only commands membership of every living creature on planet earth including Amoeba Brain Eater and Dengue; but its popularity graph has soared to dizzy heights and now encompasses every living and dead bacteria on Moon, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto and Mars.....Buhahahahahaha!
atleast a party is trying to do something in a proper way... definitely there will be setbacks or teething problems but that doesn't mean PTI's efforts should be deprecated like this...
PTI has supporters who are far from politics, they are those middleclass people who were silent all these years …. they don’t actively participate in politics, they have no interest in intra-party elections …. all they care is for change …. These Silent Majority is going to come out on election day ONLY …. and that will be a surprise & shock for many ….. Only think PTI has to do is keep its Front yard clean …….THE SWING VOTE
PTI has supporters who are far from politics, they are those middleclass people who were silent all these years .... they don't actively participate in politics, they have no interest in intra-party elections .... all they care is for change .... These Silent Majority is going to come out on election day ONLY .... and that will be a surprise & shock for many ..... Only think PTI has to do is keep its Front yard clean .......
@Logic Monkey: Why don't you try giving some proof for your"belief". Let me help you-can you name ONE achievemnet for the party you support against PTI's NUMEROUS acheivements
Don't worry guys-Lets show our real strength during elections to SUPPORT IK. That is the only way to make a statement. These forums are a waste of time-let's turn our arguments into action
This article is confusing. The wording in the paragraph about Karachi and Lahore is referring to ALL voters e.g. it says Karachi has "a total of 6.6 million registered voters" . But the way it is written in the context of the article it is being confused with PTI members who are registered voters.
And the point was that PTI has only 350,000 members who are registered; but in Karachi and Lahore alone total verified voter population is 6 million. And therefore PTI is far, far away from a win. Of course as others have pointed out this conclusion is unjustified as there is no estimate of PTI voters who are not PTI members. What we need is a ratio: 1 party member = how many general votes typically?
This is what I understand anyway, after reading it several times over. This article could have been better written.
The article seems to be written with malafied intentions, as it is propagating false assumptions.
Here are some responses:
1) PTI had announced right from the start that the elections will first be held ISB, then in rest of Pakistan. Because no one has done the process in the past and we need to test it before doing it on full scale.
2) 58,000 verified voters are participating in ISB elections. Though Propotional estimation is not the right way to estimate countrywide verified PTI members, but just taking a shot says that ~8.6 Million members would get verified. The only intent of this number is to show how ridiculous is the 350K number the author is quoting.
3) PTI has 10 million total members out of which 3.9 million members have registered from mobile phones, with unique mobile phone and CNIC numbers. There data can be searched by public at: www.ptimember.com . Hence no possiblity of duplications there.
4) The duplications and verifications are primarily required in on members registering on membership cards. Where it is expected that 80% members will be verified. The process is still underway.
PTI false claim of having 10 million members exposed badly. It seems downfall of PTI has started. If this report is considered true then in each NA constituency PTI has almost 1286 members. If each member brings even 20 voters (v high figure) with him on day of election implies that in each constituency PTI can merely grap 25750 votes. This figure is alarming for PTI. I sincerely suggest PTI supporters not to get fooled by false and tall claims of PTI leaders. Be realistic otherwise you all will scold your leaders after elections.
Imran Khan is a cricketer and former pace bowler.
He is not a visionary or a political leader .He neither has experience of handling a province or even a district and he endeavour to come on Top for the fate of 20crore pakistanis
He is a documented liar ,a man who does not have the courage to own his very own daughter can never be a leader!
I am really sorry for the fate of PTI supporters that the future they are hoping from Imran khan...
What if some one has sent any sms on these numbers, and still they are going to vote for PTI?
To Everyone here....This is a completely biased and unprofessional report ! it is appalling !! The number 350,000 according to this report is based on a PTI survey in which it asked its members to check if they are registered to vote and SMS back to PTI. For the first time i hv heard of this, it might have happened but was not that publicized....i have been a member since 2007 and never knew of this, so like me coountless other never got back to PTI the we r registered to vote. ! ET everything aside the lack of editorial oversight here shocks me !!
When someone sends an SMS to 80022 they become #PTI member - if they do not SMS their CNIC they cannot be eligible for party elections
@etribune please reply on Abdul Wadood comment.
From Karachi 3.9 million verified and from Lahore 2.1 million verified. Total becomes 6 million ( 6,000,000) then how come you say ‘only 350,000 members who are eligible to vote’
No..pti didnt ask us to send an sms to ecp and then to 80022...its a false news..
You are confusing people here by mixing up PTI members numbers and the total voters numbers. Anyway, I think you have missed a zero in your figure. It must be 3.5 million and not 350K. Also the source is missing. The whole post just smells of propaganda and misinformation.
What is the source of your info?? Did the Election Commission give the 350,000 number???
Did PTI give the 350,000 number??? or was it some other unknown 'source'???
"10 M members" is the argument will be used by Imran Khan after getting defeat in election, so no one from PTI will back-out from this number.
Let me tell you, me and my family and many friends are also members of PTI. We also provided CNIC but our names are missing in the PTI's voter list. So, I don't have any doubts that the actual number of voter members in general elections is very very large.
care to elaborate how many of the same do the other "big" parties have? 3,500? 35,000? heck, ppp's total vote bank in 2008 was 10 lakh... so yeah, even 350,000 is a big enough number in that context.
When Imran Khan becomes PM, 90 million Pakistanis will become PTI members in 9 days. Thereafter, 99% of Pakistanis will vote him to power in perpetuity.
Source of this information is missing, did the Election Comission give the 350,000 number? Did the PTI team give the number? or was it some other 'source'?
It seems ET is overly relying on faulty sources from within PTI. First, there was indeed an effort by PTI to ask their members through SMS to verify their votes from 8300 and then forward (I remember doing it) but it wasn't really related to their intra party elections for which CNICs were required only. Also, if the response was less than the total does not automatically mean they are non-eligible voters, just maybe they didn't or couldn't be bothered to reply with the CNIC numbers (or 8300 reply). In addition, as far as I'm aware, Islamabad elections are not being held because of this verification process, but because of the fact that PTI is using a novel method for voting based on mobile phones and it makes sense to test the whole thing on a limited area to cover up any mishaps that may occur and compromise the whole process and the fairness of the polls.
So again, for the interest of those reading, a total of about 10 million members were registered through SMS and manually combined. After a verification exercise in which CNIC's were required to be submitted, this list was shortened to 7 million members (as all did not submit CNICs or weren't bothered to). In addition, I believe some duplications were also removed (i.e. registrations by both SMS and manual) to produce a voters' list that was as accurate as possible.
This 350,000 number is those who sent their data which they recieved in reply from 8300 to 80022.There are millions who didn't do this and this doesn't imply that they are not eligible voters.Take a life.
From Karachi 3.9 million verified and from Lahore 2.1 million verified. Total becomes 6 million ( 6,000,000) then how come you say 'only 350,000 members who are eligible to vote'
60,000 voters list for Islamabad election have already been published and uploaded on website along with names and CNIC numbers .. if Islamabd have 60,000 members how come rest of the country have only 290,000?
Imran Khan must come out from hibernation and stop focusing on meaningless issues and fully concentrate on mobilizing his old Party Comrades because they are his strength. I don't how genuine is 350,000 eligible voters list but certainly Popularity of PTI is dipping and it is really serious even when it is established that it's rival party took money for rigging.I think Imran Khan at this point is callous and complacent while dealing with Party internal matters which if not controlled will finish PTI before general elections . He has to find middle ground to satisfy his new inductees and old comrades.
When PTI said its members exceeded 10 millions, it meant members and not voters. I have a feeling your report will soon be countered and figures corrected. Somehow I see a fallacy although I can't put my finger on it.