No woman contestant has a party ticket

There were only five women contestants in 20 wards, two of them also later decided to stand down

LAHORE:

There were only five women, all contesting as independents, in the final list of candidates issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan on April 11 for the Lahore and Walton Cantonment Boards elections scheduled for Saturday (today).

However, two of them later withdrew their candidacy.

Azra Parveen stood down in support of a neighbor in the ward 2 of the LCB on a Pakistan Tehrik Insaf (PTI) ticket.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Parveen said she had been a worker of both the Nawaz and Quaid-i-Azam factions of the Pakistan Muslim League during her 20 years political career. She said she felt that women workers were not valued by the parties as much as men.

“I have decided to withdraw my candidacy in support of Ikhlaq Hussain [PTI candidate] because I feel he deserves it more than any other candidate,” she said.

She said she was now canvassing for Hussain in the Diggi Mohalla area of Saddar Bazaar.

Shahnaz Tariq Khan is the other woman candidate who withdrew her candidacy after the announcement of the final list. She had filed her nomination papers in the LCB Ward 4 as a PTI candidate but was not given the ticket by the party. “I fought till the end. But I hold the party’s decision supreme” she said. She lamented that there was no woman amongst the party’s candidates.



With Khan’s withdrawal from the race, Asia Firdous is the sole woman contestant in the Ward 4. She is contesting as an independent candidate with the symbol of an electric power transformer. She said she had several PML-N workers in her immediate family but she did not need a party tag.

Fouzia Ameer, an independent candidate in WCB Ward 3, said she would focus singularly on the issues of Charar and Keer villages if she was elected to represent the ward in the Cantonment Board.

She said it was important for women to participate in elections, even if they had to do so as independent candidates.

Of the 153,510 voters in the 10 LCB wards, 67,000 are women. In WCB wards, 136,737 of 307,482 voters are women.

Pakistan Awaami Tehreek deputy information secretary Ayesha Shabbir told the Tribune that she believed that the short time allowed by the ECP for preparations was to blame for the lack of women participation from party platforms.

PTI Lahore information secretary Farrukh Javed said with seats reserved on the Cantt Board for them, women themselves were not very keen on contesting general seats. He said the PTI had allotted tickets without regard to gender.

Faisal Mir of the Pakistan Peoples Party Lahore chapter said his party’s campaign was led mostly by women. However, he said, only a few senior women party workers had showed interest in contesting the election. “They, too, backed out at the last minute,” he said.

Electricity poles being erected in Ward 9 of the Walton Cantonment a day before the election. PHOTO: ABID NAWAZ/EXPRESS

Walton Cantonment: PML-N has the upper hand in Ward 10

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Mian Khalid Ahmed in Ward 10 of Walton Cantonment is the elder brother of MPA Mian Naseer. This makes him a favourite in the eyes of many. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) candidate Mian Akhtar is a nephew of Ahmad. The PTI has refused to award tickets to Ghulam Sarwar Kasuri, a former councillor, despite him having a good vote bank. He is not contesting elections now. Arif Ismail, a PTI supporter, decided to contest the elections as an independent candidate after the party refused him a party. Faheem Khan, another PTI supporter, was also refused a ticket by the PTI. He, too, is now contesting as an independent candidate. Residents of the ward The Express Tribune spoke to believe that the PML-N will win the elections. Mian Salman, a resident of the ward, says MPA Naseer has helped improved sewage system and installed water filtration plants in the area. He says it is unlikely for the PTI to beat the PML-N. He says PTI’s poor choice of a candidate will cost the party.

Walton Cantonment: PML-N favourite to win Ward 9

A tough competition is likely between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Haji Munir Hussain and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Shaikh Basharat Ali. The ward is part of NA 125 where PML-N’s Khwaja Saad Rafique defeated PTI’s Hamid Khan in the general elections. Residents of the area say Hussain has a slight edge over Ali. Anwar, a resident, says the constituency is a PML-N stronghold. In the 1991 elections, Liaquat Ali, an independent candidate, had won from this ward. He had later joined the PML-N. Shahid, another resident of the ward, says the PTI’s “fruitless” sit-in in Islamabad will prove a setback for the party. “People did not buy the idea of PTI’s change,” he says. He says the PTI has ignored many ‘eligible’ workers while nominating candidates.

Lahore cantonment: PML-N, PTI will battle it out in Ward 9

A neck-to-neck contest is expected between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Naeem Shahzad Bhatti and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Nazakat Bhatti. Bilal Aslam Bhatti, an independent candidate, also enjoys public support in the ward. Naeem Shahzad Bhatti has a slight edge over his rivals because of his party being in power in both province and the Centre. There are 12,317 registered voters in the constituency that includes Manawala, Chochowali, Ismailpura, Jhura Colony, Jhundo Wali Abadi, Kalar Colony, Gohawa, Tiba and Metodat. Biridari, too, will impact the vote outcome as a large number of voters are Meo, Bhatti and Jutt. Almost 40 per cent of the voters in the ward are Christians and the contestants claim to have support of the Christian community.

Lahore cantonment: PPP no where to be seen in Ward 10

A good turnout is expected in the ward that has nearly 17,000 registered voters. Rana Jaffar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Ilyas Bhatti of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf are the major contestants. Like Ward 9, the Pakistan Peoples Party will rely on its ideological vote bank. Zahid Anjum is the PPP candidate for the ward. The PML-N candidate is cashing in on the development works carried by the provincial government. Jaffar appears confident after PML-N leaders, including its Lahore chapter president Pervaiz Malik, Zaeem Qadri, Chaudhry Shahbaz and Mian Naseer, campaigned for him in the ward. Ward 10 includes Chak Bhrat, Duragpura, Nayan, Ghindra Kalan, Malikpur, Babuwala, Dehr Pindim Bhratpura, Sajpal and Alpa Juggian.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2015.