CHAKWAL: In the NA-61 polls, polling closed at 5pm in the evening. The two major contenders for the seat include Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Sardar Mumtaz Tamman and independent candidate Sardar Mansoor Hayat Tamman.
There are eight candidates contesting for the seat but the two front runners are PML-N’s Sardar Mumtaz Tamman and independent Mansoor Hayat Tamman. The polls were initiated after PML-N candidate Sardar Faiz Tamman handed in his resignation.
Approximately 363 polling stations have been opened for nearly 400,000 voters. Out of these, 38 polling stations have been declared sensitive and security arrangements have been made at all of the polling stations in Chakwal. The Chakwal superintendent of police (SP) Investigation has stated that over 1,000 police personnel have been brought in from outside Chakwal to monitor the polls. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has authorised the district returning officer and assistant returning officers to exercise the powers of a first class magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898) on the polling day. The NA-61 constituency is dominated by the Awans who generally employ the surname Tamman and gained popularity in the last general election as the former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi lost the election to a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Sardar Faiz Tamman.
“Only a Tamman can win an election here but there are two groups of Tamman’s competing,” said one voter Allah Baksh, adding that the biradri was divided into two factions and one of the family members was elected to the National Assembly.
The two Tamman families already have major contenders among their ranks as the Faiz Tamman faction has Air Martial (r) Noor Khan’s support and the second faction led by Sardar Muhammad Hayat Khan Tamman (who previously served in the cabinet of Nawab of Kalabagh, Malik Amir Muhammad Khan) is supported by many Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) members. Sardar Hayat Tamman later joined the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and was political advisor to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto during his first government in 1973.
The present NA-61 seat has fallen vacant after Sardar Faiz Ahmad Tamman resigned owing to differences with the PML-N leadership and a fake degree scandal. Faiz Tamman was also a returned candidate from the constituency in 2002, where he contested as an independent candidate and was the only legislator in Pakistan who had joined the PPP. He then developed differences with the PPP and joined the dissident group of the party, PPP-Patriot. In 2008, Faiz joined the PML-N after a meeting with Sharifs and challenged Pervaiz Elahi. He won the election by a very slim mar gin.
This time, Malik Mansoor Hayat Tamman, who always contested the election on the PML-N ticket, is an independent candidate. According to officials, Hayat is being backed by the PPP but the party has not issued him an official ticket thereby honouring the ‘Charter of Democracy’ that bars a party from fielding a candidate on a seat where the other party candidate has won. Mansoor Hayat has also not been allowed to use the PPP party symbol of the arrow.
The PML-N awarded its ticket to Malik Mumtaz Tamman, the cousin of Faiz Tamman. Malik Mumtaz used to be a staunch supporter of the PPP and contested several elections on the PPP ticket winning on several occasions. He has also served as the district office-bearer of the party.
Besides Mumtaz Tamman and Hayat Tamman, eight other candidates are also contesting the elections. These include Raja Naseeb Khan, Muhammad Ayub, Pathan Khan, Malik Akhtar Hussain, Yar Muhammad, Yasir Malik, Ali Khan Awan and a female candidate Maqsood Begum.
Earlier, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had awarded ticket to a party worker, Malik Kabir, but changed the candidate after reviewing the situation in the constituency.
Malik Saleem Iqbal, an independent candidate, was also in the running and had support from former district Nazim Ghulam Abbas and a few PPP leaders, including its district president Shah Jahan Sarfraz Raja. Iqbal, however, withdrew from the contest a few days ago. His withdrawal has changed the political scenario and Mumtaz Tamman is reported to be a clear front runner.
Captain (r) Safdar and Hamza Shahbaz made several visits to the constituency and the position of PML-N candidate Mumtaz Tamman is reportedly stronger than that of independent candidate Hayat Tamman. “Who wins the elections will hardly make a difference. The seat will remain in the hands of a Tamman either way,” said Captain Safdar.
According to the final results, PML-N candidate Sardar Mumtaz Tamman has won the NA-61 polls.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2010.
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