Low turnout mars: LG elections in cantonment boards

Most areas saw less than 20 per cent turn out for the elections that took place after 17 years.

HYDERABAD/ KARACHI:

There was a common theme to the local government elections in the cantonment areas in Sindh: low voter turnout.

The elections were supervised by the Pakistan Army and Rangers personnel. Most polling stations wore, however, a deserted look throughout the day. At a polling station in Defence Housing Authority, Phase V Extension, a bored-looking army officer said he had a suggestion to enable more DHA residents come out to vote in the next cantonment elections.

“People are so lazy here that they don’t want to step out of their houses to vote. Next time, voting should be done online so that they participate.”

Presiding officer, Amir, agreed and said that e-voting was common practice in other countries. “So many resources have been used for these elections but the turnout has been low,” he said, pointing towards the army and police officers deployed at the station.

Schools across the DHA, which had been turned into polling stations for Saturday’s cantonment elections, witnessed a low turnout. According to an official of the board, the turnout in Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) was only 20 per cent.

No access to media

While the army kept a close watch on the voters and candidates, the media was not allowed to monitor the election process. The CBC had earlier issued media passes but they were cancelled at the eleventh hour. The other cantonments in Karachi, too, did not facilitate the media.

As was the pattern, the turnout in the Karachi Cantonment Board areas was around 20 per cent. Some voters decried the lack of proper arrangements. “There is no election pattern,” said Aqeel Ahmed, a resident of Askari III, who had come to the FG public school to cast his vote. He claimed he had been roaming around for half an hour to find the voters’ list but there was no one to help him.

At the Habib Girls’ Secondary School, where the first vote was cast around 10am, the polling station looked deserted, the staff sleepy and the few voters indifferent.

Political workers

Excited about the elections in cantonment areas after nearly 17 years, political parties had set up election camps in close proximity to each polling station since early morning. The camps were, however, set up beyond the distinct demarcation line stretched by the cantonment officials to restrict election campaigning around the polling stations.

A majority of eligible voters did not even know that elections were taking place in their areas. “I woke up this morning and saw these election camps,” said Muhammad Zeeshan Khan, a resident of Saadi Town in Malir Cantonment, who was buying groceries at a local store. “I did not even know about the elections.”

Rehan Saleem, a political worker at the election camp of Jamaat-e-Islami, explained that the cantonment elections in the metropolis seemed to be overshadowed by the media hype for NA-246 by-elections. “Around a week ago, many people asked why we are campaigning for the by-election in NA-246 constituency in cantonment areas of Saadi Town, Madina Colony and adjoining suburban areas,” he said.

A chance for change

Perhaps the most excited about the cantonment elections were the residents of Bhitai Colony — an area that lacks basic infrastructure. This particular area falls under the Cantonment Board Korangi Creek (CBKC).

Though the local body elections in CBKC didn’t earn the attention other cantonment boards garnered from the media, the inhabitants of Bhitai Colony said its importance far exceeds that of others. It is the only cantonment board in the country that doesn’t own its territory and has such a dilapidated infrastructure, they said.

Almost all main stream parties had fielded their candidate while there were four independent candidates resulting in a fierce competition to secure a majority from the 15,900-plus registered voters.

Some of the residents were, however, disappointed for their names were not in the CBKC voters’ list. A senior citizen, Mehmood Azam, complained he could not vote because his name wasn’t in the list even though he had been living in the area since 1984.

Cantonment Board of Hyderabad

In Hyderabad, the polling process started on schedule at 9am in all 28 polling stations in the Cantonment Board of Hyderabad. Strict security measures were taken to avoid any untoward incidents

The turnout during the first four hours remained dismally low at between 12 to 18 per cent at almost all the polling stations. The polling concluded at 5pm.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2015.