February 19, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 11, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 18: The general elections failed to generate much political activism in the former District Malir, where the ethnic divide controlled the polling trend on Monday with low voter turnout and expectations of traditional results on two National Assembly and four Provincial Assembly seats.

While there was a lack of voter interest on all the six seats up for grabs, inadequate security measures by the Election Commission (EC) and the security authorities hampered the transparency of the elections.

Though law and order remained mostly in control in Malir, security personnel deputed outside the polling stations did not bother to control the movement of unconcerned persons as per the Election Commission’s orders.

The free movement of political workers and non-voters continued in almost all the 417 polling stations of the two NA seats – NA-257 and 258. The same trend was witnessed in the 395 polling stations fixed for the four Provincial Assembly seats (PS-127 to 130). Even the polling booths in most of the stations were in the access of unconcerned party activists.

In Asif Boys Secondary School, next to the Saudabad police station, political workers were allowed to move in and outside the polling station frequently. Though the Rangers were deployed outside some of the polling stations, there was no move from the troops to stop such prohibited actions.

Inside most of the polling stations one could hardly differentiate between the EC staff and political workers.

NA-257, which includes Malir and parts of Deh Malir, where a few goths are included in the constituency, has 386,376 voters. Though the roads remained deserted till the evening, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement succeeded in mobilizing its workers and facilitating voters.

A total of seven candidates were contesting from the constituency, but outside the majority of polling stations, the MQM ruled the area with no camp of any other political party in sight. The MQM’s Sajid Ahmed was rated as the favourite, followed by Riaz Hussain Lund of the PPP.

The MQM, a coalition partner in the last government, dominated the areas of Saudabad, Khokrapar, Malir Colony, Malir Extension Colony and Model Colony during the nine hours of polling. Polling began in time in most of the stations, while a few stations witnessed minor delays.

In a very small part of the constituency, including Aasoo Goth and Malir City, PPP workers were seen active with no competition from the rival party in those areas.

However, NA-258, the city’s biggest constituency in terms of area, remained dominated by the PPP, where rival parties, including the MQM, did not put in any extra effort to mobilize workers and voters. The constituency – with 17 candidates – witnessed thin queues outside the polling stations, where PPP camps received them as the only facilitating party.

The PPP’s Sher Mohammad Baloch, who won the 2002 elections on the same seat, appeared as the favourite candidate from the constituency with very minor resistance from the rival parties.

However, measures inside the polling stations of the constituency exposed serious flaws in the system designed by the Election Commission for polling day. These included the non-availability of furniture in the stations and shortage of workforce available with the EC. The constituency has a total of 418,663 voters.

The same apathetic mood of the security personnel, including the police and Rangers, raised questions about their professionalism and authority.

The four Provincial Assembly seats – PS-127, 128, 129 and 130 – which have a total of 755,850 voters, were contested by 59 political parties and independent candidates.

In the 2002 elections, all the four major parties – the MQM, PPP, MMA and PML-Q – enjoyed a seat each in the Provincial Assembly, which is not expected this year. The PPP and MQM emerged as the favourite parties for the PS seats.