Knock knock. Who’s there? Are you going to vote?

Political workers are planning a door-to-door campaign this Saturday morning.

KARACHI:

Nearly all the major political parties in the city have told their workers to go door-to-door on Saturday morning to make sure residents step outside their homes and exercise their voting rights.

It is a traditional practice for political parties to arrange conveyance for their voters on election day, when they pick residents from their homes and drive them to the polling stations. Party workers also offer a ride home once the vote is cast. This year, the election commission has, however, introduced some rules barring political parties from getting too close to the polling stations.

According to the code of conduct, political parties cannot set up their camps within a 400-yard radius of the polling station. They are also prohibited from offering rides to voters, and shouting slogans near polling stations.

As soon as the rules were finalised, the political parties in the city chalked out their strategy for May 11. They have decided to go door-to-door from early morning, and send text messages to garner support. Several parties have also arranged for private vehicles to drop and pick voters from polling stations.

“We will use mobile phone messaging services to let people know how to cast votes,” said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) activist Farid Memon. He told The Express Tribune that the PPP collected all the data of their activists and sympathisers. Based on the data, they will go to each house and motivate people to cast their votes.

Farid admitted that the election commission’s new rules forced them to drop some of their traditional services, but they are still planning on waking up early and knocking on every door. According to him, these will be the first elections when political parties will be using text messages to motivate the voters.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) appreciates, however, the strict rules laid down in the new code of conduct. The party will also initiate a door-to-door campaign, said MQM’s Wasay Jalil, adding that they were grateful the new campaign rules saved the city’s beauty. He was sure the party’s voters were committed enough to go on their own and cast their votes.

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) is, however, planning on setting up camps beyond 400-yard radius. “We will also use our personal vehicles,” said JI’s Hafiz Naeemur Rehman. The JI will also send text messages to encourage voters, he added.

Dealing with sensitive stations

Maintaining peace around sensitive polling stations is the basic responsibility of the law enforcement agencies but it is also the civic responsibility of the MQM to inform them in case the law and order is being disrupted, said Jalil.

Meanwhile, the JI demanded that the government should declare all of the city’s polling stations sensitive. “If on the day of election there is a crisis situation, the election commission and a certain political party would be responsible, said Rehman.

A political insider said, on the condition of anonymity, that all parties have already chalked out a strategy to deal with political rivals at sensitive polling stations. If any party deploys its men around polling stations, “we will sacrifice our life in order to stop rigging.”

Residents prepare for activists arriving early morning

Some residents of Karachi are not very concerned about the numerous activists planning to knock at their door on Saturday morning while some are planning ahead to avoid these activists. “We are already awake at the time, they will help us know how to cast our votes,” said homemaker Khursheed Zahra, adding that she is more concerned about the expected bloodbath on that day.

A bank employee, Salaar Sheikh, does not want people at his door on a day off. “I have decided to switch off the doorbell and sleep in late,” he said. “We will go and cast our votes in the second half of the day.”

For plumber Amin Isfind, the holidays are meant to be a resting period and these people will only disturb us early in the morning. Isfind is still planning on voting as he feels, “the inflation has already broken our backs and we really want a change.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.