LAHORE: The post-polling clash between activists of the two main parties on Saturday night took the shine off the otherwise peaceful election day in Lahore.

The voting for the Cantonment Board seats remained largely peaceful and most people including the constituents expressed satisfaction over ‘disciplined’ conduct of election. So much so that there were not many incidents of allegations and counter-allegations by candidates, their supporters or voters.

A voter was first ‘body searched’ by cops at the entrance to a polling station followed by ‘interview’ by the army personnel at the second entrance before he or she reached the premises to cast the vote. Although a candidate’s supporters were allowed to gather outside the polling stations, they were not permitted to raise slogans.

Unlike the general elections, the political parties were not allowed to set up offices outside the polling stations. The parties found the space several yards away.

Interestingly, there was not much clamour from any candidate or his supporters that the ruling party or any other party was involved in rigging. The polling agents too did not point a finger at the process. There was a complaint of errors in voter lists as some voters said they found out that their votes were registered at some other polling stations.

The voters’ turnout remained low in the first half of the day but it gradually picked up in the afternoon. The maximum number of votes were cast during the last hour, according to some presiding officers. Although there was no official word about the turnout, it appeared not more than 35pc.

The media was not allowed at most of the polling stations on the direction of ‘higher authorities’. The army personnel present at the second entrance of the polling station at Walton told this reporter that the media was not allowed to enter the polling station to see the process of vote casting.

The voters and supporters of political parties were impressed by the army presence in the polling stations and demanded that the authorities engage them in future elections as well to ensure “peaceful and rigging-free polls.”

“We have seen complete discipline and calm in the polling process and it is because of the army. The army should be involved in the local and general elections so that people vote in such a peaceful environment,” said Abdur Rehman Raja, a Pakistan Awami Tehreek activist.

“Have a look at the parties’ camps. There is a peaceful environment which was not the case in the 2013 general elections,” Raja pointed towards the camps set up near the Government Boys High School of Walton.

Raja’s views were endorsed by PTI’s Ghulam Murtaza and Masood Aftab. “The Election Commission should remove errors from the voter lists and the government deploy army in future polls. If this happens let me assure you no one will complain about rigging,” Aftab said.

As the results started pouring in, the supporters of the PML-N and PTI took to the street and celebrated the victory of their respective candidates. Most of the 20 seats of both Walton and Cantonment boards were reportedly won by the PML-N.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2015

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