February 19, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 11, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 18: What had been awaited as the D-day of elections, the 2008 polls by and large failed to evoke enthusiasm in the citizenry, held as they were under the shadow of possible violence, manipulation and allegations of rigging.

Only the localities dominated by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) loyalists and some ethnic pockets showed any visible signs of excitement.

One of the reasons contributing to the exceptionally low turnout is believed to be the fear of poll day violence that had built up in recent weeks. Amongst the rumours in circulation had been the need for people to stock food items to last a month, given that unrest could break out in the city under any pretext. The city looked like a ghost town on Monday as all main arteries, including Sharea Faisal, were deserted and private and public transport vehicles remained off the roads.

The elections were also marred by complaints of mismanagement against both the contesting parties and the administration.

The Sindh president of the Awami National Party, Shahi Syed, told Dawn that in a number of Sohrab Goth localities, workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) snatched ballot books and prevented many ANP supporters from entering the polling stations. “Despite our protests, neither the Rangers personnel nor the policemen posted there came to our rescue,” he said. “Our supporters were trying to cast their votes while activists of the rival candidate were freely stamping the ballot books and casting votes.”

Meanwhile, Haji Ramzan Goth GBB School, Bhitaiabad, was declared the location of a polling station hardly two days before the elections: the location of the polling station was shifted from Chappal Grammar School on Saturday night and the station’s presiding officer told Dawn that he received orders about the change on Sunday night, mere hours before the polling was due to begin. However, he managed to locate the venue and initiate polling activities on time. By the time the station was visited by this reporter, 450 men and 16 women had cast votes.

The voters assigned to Government Sindhi Boys School, Juma Goth, Bhitaiabad, however, were not so lucky. There, polling was delayed by six hours as the polling staff was unable to find the station and finally reached it at 1:30pm. Citizens were able to start the process of casting their votes by 2pm.

Complaints regarding changes in the locations of various polling stations in different goths and katchi abadis were also voiced.

Remarkably low turnout

Monday’s general elections were also marred by an unusually low turnout.

Earlier, a number of political analysts had predicted that the wide coverage given to the elections in the media, particularly on television, would evoke public excitement and bring voters out on polling day. However, these estimates proved false on Monday as the normally bustling metropolis looked like a ghost town. All the main arteries, including Sharea Faisal, were deserted and the number of private vehicles on the roads was fewer than is the norm even during a strike call. Public transport was virtually absent in its entirety since most vehicles were either withdrawn on Sunday for fear of them being seized by the police for ‘government duty’, or booked by candidates to transport voters to the polling stations. In fact, young men were seen playing cricket on many of the city’s roads, including Sharah-i-Iraq where the Election Commission’s office is located.

All centres of commercial activity, including food streets such as Burnes Road and University Road, and Empress Market remained closed. On Burnes Road, only two food outlets were open for business.

The low turnout can be assessed from polling station No. 120 of NA-240, which was located in the highly congested area of Chakiwara of the old city. Of the 2,028 votes registered here, merely 500 people – including 81 women – had cast votes by the time polling ended at 5pm. One of the female polling officers there told Dawn that she had been on duty during the past three elections but had never witnessed such a low turnout before.

The turnout figures may also have been influenced by the opposition APDM’s call for voters to boycott the elections since they would fail to solve any of the citizenry’s problems. Meanwhile, for the want of experienced political voters in their camps, parties in the opposition were unable to generate excitement amongst their voters. However, the presence of large numbers of MQM supporters at even those camps located at a distance from polling booths, made it clear that the party was poised to sweep the elections in the city. It would not be surprising if it manages to emerge victorious even on seats from opposition-dominated areas.