Successful sit-in: Expect the army at your door today

Opposition parties have convinced the election commission to bring the army in for voter verification.


Hafeez Tunio February 01, 2013
Vehicles full of army personnel move along Club Road on January 10, the first day of the house count. Soon after this, several political parties realised that in most areas of the city, voter verification was being done in the absence of the army. When they protested, the chief election commissioner finally said on Monday that there will be a greater presence of the army in the field. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI:


The three consecutive days that opposition parties spent outside the provincial election commission’s office finally paid off - the army will be present alongside the enumerators as they go in the field to verify electoral rolls.


The joint sit-in started on Saturday when several political parties protested the ongoing voter verification process, which set off without the help of the army and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) on January 10.

On Monday, the chief election commissioner, Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim held a meeting with the leaders of the protesting parties. He assured them that he had written to the army officials and they will be present in the field from Tuesday (today). “Please, wind up your protest now,” he requested.

During the negotiations, the leaders of around 20 political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Awami Tehreek, Sindh United Party and Sunni Tahreek wondered what will happen to those areas where the verification process has been completed.

The chief election commissioner assured them by suggesting that they can carry out a random survey of different neighbourhoods to ask people how the verification took place. “The ECP will resolve your concerns by rectifying any bogus entries,” he promised. The ECP has only managed to complete 45 per cent of the work.



Despite his assurances, the leaders of several political parties said they do not trust him. “He [Ebrahim] is giving us a lollipop,” said JUI-F’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed. “We respect him, but he still violated the Supreme Court’s orders.”

On the other hand, the spokesperson for ISPR in Karachi said that the chief election commissioner has forwarded the request, but the decision would be made today (Tuesday). “It is premature to say whether the army will provide door-to-door assistance in the whole city,” he said.

PML-N’s Saleem Zai felt that the election commissioner was favouring a specific party. “We will have a plan for sit-in front of the parliament on January 31,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi’s Afaq Ahmed agreed with the commissioner’s decision to refrain from the delimitation of constituencies. He added, however, that the voter verification process has been hijacked by its rival group, Muttahida Qaumi Movement.  “The command and control system has been established in Governor House from where orders are being issued to kill the people and manipulate the mandate in the city,” he alleged. The issue cannot be resolved unless the governor is removed and the army takes control of the entire process,” he said.

SUP’s Shah Mehmood Shah also supported Afaq Ahmed. He said that the Pakistan Peoples Party government has surrendered before its major coalition partner in Karachi and accepted all its unnecessary demands.

Muhammad Hussain Mehenti of JI held the MQM responsible for the killings and extortion demands in the city. “We have also asked the commissioner to depute armed forces inside polling stations, otherwise no one will accept the results,” he said.

According to the election commission’s schedule, the field work, which started from January 10, has to be completed by February 1. That gives the commission staff only four days to wind up its work in Karachi. After that, the enumerators will have to finish their official paperwork within 10 days before submitting the list to NADRA for publication. NADRA will then send the published list to the election commission for any amendments. The whole process is likely to end by March.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2013.

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