LG elections to go ahead no matter vote

With the elections scheduled for Sept 20, hardly any party has launched campaigning exercises

KARACHI: While hue and cry for holding elections at the grass-roots level has been there for the last 10 years, political parties appear to be more interested in rhetoric. As the date for local government (LG) elections draws nearer, parties seem to take little interest in the preparations to contest the polls scheduled for September 20 in Sindh.

With a little more than a month left for the polls, hardly any party has launched their campaigning exercise. Usually, party workers and leaders engage in voter registration process in their respective areas ahead of the polls, hold corners meetings, visit their constituencies and apprise people about their policies. However, no such exercise appears to be taking place in any part of the province.

"Though we are uncertain about the elections taking place, but we have planned some activities from the first week of August," said Mujahid Channa, the information secretary of the Sindh chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), adding that the party will hold a convention in Karachi. According to Channa, JI will participate in the upcoming elections, making alliance with like-minded parties except the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

MQM is among the major stakeholders in the province, but party leadership seems uncertain about the elections. "MQM is an organised party and we have already started sector, unit and zonal meetings," said MQM leader Aminul Haque. "But we are not sure whether or not the elections will be held on time given that the Sindh government has recently approached the Election Commission [of Pakistan] to extend the date in the wake of floods."

Meanwhile, he was positive about the outcome of the elections. Referring to the cantonment election results, he said, "Despite the state operation against us, we swept this election in Sindh. Political victimisation still continues against us, but we are determined to participate and win the upcoming LG polls as well."

ANP Sindh chapter president Shahi Syed also expressed uncertainty about the elections being held in Sindh, which is why the party has not yet begun with its campaign. "In local government elections, no one can defeat us in Pashtun-dominated areas," he said. "As soon as the election scheduled is announced, we will start our campaign."

The Supreme Court had ordered that the delimitation of union councils be finalised ahead of the elections. The exercise is about to finish, but some political parties have expressed their concern over the process. "The pre-poll rigging has started with the delimitation of the union councils as 90 per cent of the staff of Sindh government is engaged in this process," Ismail Rahoo, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) in Sindh. "These politically appointed people have given favour to PPP, making the wards and union councils of their choices. Despite all this, we will participate in the elections."

Meanwhile, the leaders of PPP, a party that is another major stakeholder in the upcoming polls, are tight-lipped. Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had convened a number of meetings on the LG elections preparation, directing local leaders to expedite the process of making the committees, visit the respective constituencies, and interact with voters and resolve their issues. However, concrete result has yet to surface.

On the other hand, local government minister Nasir Shah said that party leaders are presently engaged in the flood emergency in Sindh but their preparation for the polls is also in full swing. "It is better to postpone the election until December, so that we can deal with the flood," he said. "Otherwise, we are ready to contest. We will give another surprise to the people of this province by sweeping the polls."

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2015.