At the polls, again
Voter turnout and enthusiasm was significantly less than on May 11.
A Pakistani woman prepares to cast her vote at a polling station during the country's by-election in several constituencies, in Islamabad on August 22, 2013. PHOTO: AFP
The biggest by-poll exercise ever conducted in the country will not change anything as far as political power goes. The PML-N’s hold over the central government and the hold of each of the provincial governments is firm and under no challenge. But even so, the polling for 26 provincial and 15 National Assembly seats, conducted on August 22, was not without significance. In some ways, it went to reflect the general political mood in the country, with the PML-N and the PTI locked in a series of battles in Punjab, while in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the ANP has been attempting to regain some hold in its traditional territory.
Some trends were clear as polling entered its final hours. Voter turnout and enthusiasm was significantly less than on May 11. Whether this was due to an unusually swift disillusionment with political parties or as a consequence of security fears is uncertain. A factor, too, was the fact that neither the PML-N nor the PPP conducted an active campaign, with individual candidates generally forging their own way forward. A saddening reminder of the realities we confront in our country came in the fact that the ANP, this time round, fielded no candidate in Karachi. The by-poll on the one National Assembly seat up for grabs in the city had been necessitated by the murder of its candidate, Sadiq Zaman Khattak. The violence, which has so badly damaged the process of politics in the country, continued, with a former town nazim and PTI leader, Mumlikat Khan, killed in Nowshera after being ambushed by armed assailants. The PTI also stated that another party worker had been killed in Karachi on the eve of polling. A bomb planted outside a polling station in Qilla Abdullah in Balochistan also held up polling for a considerable period.
Other unfortunate trends from May 11 also continued. Women were barred from polling in more places than had previously been the case, with reports of agreements between jirgas and even candidates of political parties reached to bar them from polling coming in from Mianwali, Hafizabad, Nowshera, Lakki Marwat, Phalia and other places. From Lakki Marwat, women voters themselves protested to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Immediate action was taken in some cases, with candidates warned that the election would be declared null and void if women did not cast their ballots. As a result of this action, women were permitted to come out in Nowshera while the ECP decision on voting in other places will need to be seen. It is, however, sad that political parties at times seem to have played a part in permitting such agreements concerning women to go ahead.
Almost inevitably, there were complaints of malpractices and rigging from various polling stations, although these, for the most part, appeared to have taken place on a relatively small scale. The by-poll also came a day after PTI chief Imran Khan released a white paper, consisting of over 2,000 pages, in Islamabad, detailing alleged rigging in the May 2013 election. The contents of this document, of course, need to be studied with the PTI demanding that action be taken to rectify and improve the system of polling. There is, of course, always room for this.
As happens in each polling exercise, there were some close contests and some theatrical tussles as well, with two sons of senior PML-N leader Zulfiqar Ali Khosa taking on each other on a provincial assembly seat in Dera Ghazi Khan. Hissamuddin Khosa represented the PML-N and Saifuddin Khosa, the PPP. The divide within the politically powerful Khosa clan is significant in terms of politics in their home territory. It is also worth noting that voting seems largely to have steered the expected course, with individual power playing a key role. The PPP and the PML-F fought for power in Sindh, while PML-N candidates continue to dominate in Punjab, suggesting there had been little change in the overall scenario since the general elections in May.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2013.
Some trends were clear as polling entered its final hours. Voter turnout and enthusiasm was significantly less than on May 11. Whether this was due to an unusually swift disillusionment with political parties or as a consequence of security fears is uncertain. A factor, too, was the fact that neither the PML-N nor the PPP conducted an active campaign, with individual candidates generally forging their own way forward. A saddening reminder of the realities we confront in our country came in the fact that the ANP, this time round, fielded no candidate in Karachi. The by-poll on the one National Assembly seat up for grabs in the city had been necessitated by the murder of its candidate, Sadiq Zaman Khattak. The violence, which has so badly damaged the process of politics in the country, continued, with a former town nazim and PTI leader, Mumlikat Khan, killed in Nowshera after being ambushed by armed assailants. The PTI also stated that another party worker had been killed in Karachi on the eve of polling. A bomb planted outside a polling station in Qilla Abdullah in Balochistan also held up polling for a considerable period.
Other unfortunate trends from May 11 also continued. Women were barred from polling in more places than had previously been the case, with reports of agreements between jirgas and even candidates of political parties reached to bar them from polling coming in from Mianwali, Hafizabad, Nowshera, Lakki Marwat, Phalia and other places. From Lakki Marwat, women voters themselves protested to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Immediate action was taken in some cases, with candidates warned that the election would be declared null and void if women did not cast their ballots. As a result of this action, women were permitted to come out in Nowshera while the ECP decision on voting in other places will need to be seen. It is, however, sad that political parties at times seem to have played a part in permitting such agreements concerning women to go ahead.
Almost inevitably, there were complaints of malpractices and rigging from various polling stations, although these, for the most part, appeared to have taken place on a relatively small scale. The by-poll also came a day after PTI chief Imran Khan released a white paper, consisting of over 2,000 pages, in Islamabad, detailing alleged rigging in the May 2013 election. The contents of this document, of course, need to be studied with the PTI demanding that action be taken to rectify and improve the system of polling. There is, of course, always room for this.
As happens in each polling exercise, there were some close contests and some theatrical tussles as well, with two sons of senior PML-N leader Zulfiqar Ali Khosa taking on each other on a provincial assembly seat in Dera Ghazi Khan. Hissamuddin Khosa represented the PML-N and Saifuddin Khosa, the PPP. The divide within the politically powerful Khosa clan is significant in terms of politics in their home territory. It is also worth noting that voting seems largely to have steered the expected course, with individual power playing a key role. The PPP and the PML-F fought for power in Sindh, while PML-N candidates continue to dominate in Punjab, suggesting there had been little change in the overall scenario since the general elections in May.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2013.