PML, allies take lead: MMA loses ground; Sindh setback for PPP in second round of local polls
Dawn Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: Groups backed by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and its allies appeared to be in a dominant position in the second phase of local body polls held in 54 districts on Thursday, according to partial results received on Friday.
Although elections were held on a non-party basis, all political parties actively participated in the process that saw PML-backed groups in the ascendency also in the first phase of the poll held on Aug 18.
Describing the victory of PML-backed candidates as overwhelming, Punjab Local Bodies Minister Raja Basharat said it reflected the confidence of the masses in the government’s policies.
Opposition groups did not offer any significant resistance, except for some pockets in different provinces. However, the overall impact of relatively good showing by opposition parties in some regions did not appear enough to challenge the likely landslide for pro-government groups.
In the NWFP, religious groups affiliated with the provincially ruling Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, whose position seemed impregnable after the alliance swept the 2002 general elections there, appeared to have lost ground to rivals backed by the PML and other opposition groups. The situation emerging in Sindh indicates that the province has not lived up to its reputation of being the power-base of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
The opposition parties have rejected the election results on the plea that massive rigging had taken place.
PPP leader Nafees Siddiqi told Dawn that government-sponsored riggings had “washed away” his party even in its safest strongholds in Sindh and it was unlikely that the party would retain back the seats it had won in the last tenure of the local bodies.
In Punjab, the PML-supported groups were poised to sweep all the 18 districts. However, they were challenged by opposition groups in the urban areas of Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Kasur and Sheikhupura. The slight edge obtained by opposition groups in the urban areas of these districts is likely to be offset by an expected landslide of PML-backed candidates in the rural parts when the final tally comes.
The contest in the rest of Punjab districts was, more or less, a one-sided affair for the PML-backed groups.
Although PML-supported groups were leading the NWFP score-card, having won 114 union councils out of a total 430, certain opposition parties like the Awami National Party and Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians also had something to cheer about as they made inroads into some of the strongholds of the Jamaat-i-Islami and other religious parties like Dir.
A similar trend was witnessed in the restive Balochistan province where polling was held in 12 districts. Groups supported by the PML and its allies were leading in Lasbela, Chaghi, Makran, Loralai, Kalat and Turbat. The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman was strongly placed in Zhob, while the opposition-aligned groups were putting up a strong fight in Quetta.
The recent Balochistan unrest is said to have had a minimal impact on the outcome of the polls.
RESULTS: The formal results of second phase of local government polls in the country will be announced on Saturday, it was learnt here today.
After formal results of second phase of local body polls in the country, newly-appointed Nazims and Naib Nazims will select Nazims of Tehsil, Towns and districts of more than 6,000 union councils on Sept 29, adds Online.
