Voters of NA-250 come out to cast their vote - some for the first time, some for the second

"When I came here on May 11 there were no such security arrangements as there were today. If the Election Commission of Pakistan had provided the same security and deployed army inside the polling stations on the day of election, we would not be standing here for the re-polling."

Haroon Jadoon, a resident of Shireen Jinnah Colony who came to cast his vote at the Pak-Turkish Institute

"My experience of voting has made me realise how important is each and every citizen. Thanks to the  PTI helpline for guiding me."

Rabia Leghari, who works at the Bahrain Consulate General

"The re-polls were very well organised. We got done in five minutes. Wish the same approach had been used on May 11."

Tehmina, an NGO worker

"The mere presence of the army officials changes people’s attitudes tremendously. This is why the re-polls were peaceful. We should not have had to go through all these painful dharnas for fair elections which was our right in the first place."

Zahra Firdous, an art student who voted at the polling station in CAMS

"I was done within three minutes. Makes you think how deliberate the mess was on May 11."

Dr Ahmed Siddiqui, resident of DHA

"We didn’t get to vote. The women at the polling station said that they did not have our names on the list and our votes had already been cast."

Urooj, an NGO worker

"The voting process was smooth, systematic and organised on Sunday. If this could have happened on May, 11 in all the constituencies across Pakistan, then change was inevitable."

Rabia Aftab, marketing professional, resident of DHA

"We are a developing country with little experience in holding elections, let alone free and fair ones. But we need to give the system another chance and vote."

Razia Khan, a marketing professional

"I am a driver by profession and on May 11, I took time off from my duty till 2pm but still could not cast my vote as there were no ballot papers. But on Sunday, it took me less than 10 minutes to cast my vote at the same polling station."

Mohammad Parvaiz, 40, a resident of Tekri Colony

"The main difference between the elections on May 11 and May 19 was the lack of enthusiasm and low turnout. It only took me seven minutes to cast my vote."

Salman Shah, a business graduate, who voted at the DHA School in Phase IV

"On May 11 when we came to vote, the polling station was shut down by certain people. We waited the whole day but could not cast our vote. On Sunday, it took us only 15 minutes to get done with voting."

Raja Azeem Afridi, who came with his children and wife to cast his vote at the Jamshad Ahmed Khan Lower Secondary School of Hijrat Colony

"People turned up in huge numbers last time because they believed in the ‘tabdeeli’ mantra. This time, they have come only to see whether or not the election commission follows through on its promise to post the army at the stations."

Shahida Waseem, a housewife and resident of Bath Island

"Last time I came home fuming, so I’m obviously pleased with the arrangements on Sunday. But I still think Pakistan needs to move to a computersied voting system."

Sajjad Rashid, a voter who cast his ballot at Defence Model School

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2013.