KARACHI: A low turnout till afternoon on polling day remained a common factor in many parts of the city on Wednesday. However, the trend was more palpable in Karachi’s Central district, where the city’s dominant party had ruled until recently. What was also mostly missing this time around was the multicoloured atmosphere that accompanied elections.

The situation, however, seemed to be a bit more energetic in West district where the turnout was low but tangibly better than the neighbouring district’s.

Some polling stations, not too far from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s — now sealed and deserted — headquarters, however, presented bustle where voters’ movement and chatter felt surreal keeping in view what was witnessed in some polling stations where numbers were far from healthy.

The Comprehensive Higher Secondary School in Azizabad, located near the streets leading to Nine-Zero, largely offered an atmosphere which was much different from many other polling stations that had an unexcited ambiance.

Several polling booths in the sprawling school were dealing with voters. The turnout at most of those booths was still between 15 and 20 per cent in afternoon. However, as the time passed the number of voters increased and the turnout improved.

Low turnout seen in many areas till afternoon

There were several other polling stations in the areas forming NA-254, where the turnout was poor. As time passed and polling hours came to an end, the number of voters began to improve. However, a few polling stations were there which actually showed voters forming queues.

Bustle at Liaquatabad No. 4

Similarly, a number of polling stations in NA-255 offered voters’ bustle, which included one in Liaquatabad No. 4, where voters came in hordes and were waiting for their turn in queues.

Almost all major parties had their election camps established at a distance from every polling station as allowed by the election commission.

Most areas of Karachi Central, however, unlike what it offered in the past elections, gave a sight that those who had witnessed the previous polls there found hard to believe. There were few vehicles on the streets, even fewer vehicles than what political parties normally use to pick and drop their voters in.

The district historically belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, yet its flags and banners were rare in many neighbourhoods. Ironically, in some areas such as Gulberg their rivals, who had almost no existence there in the past, outnumbered the MQM in the race of party flags, banners and, even, in pasting pictures of its candidates.

Polling staff at many polling stations were facing hardship because of insufficient supply of indelible ink and stamp pads. Many of them had spent the night at the polling stations.

“We are trying to ensure that this limited quantity of indelible ink does not go dry until our work gets completed,” said an assistant presiding officer at a polling station, adding that the number of stamp pads was almost 50 per cent less than what was required.

Karachi West

The turnout in Karachi West was much better than the neighbouring Central district. This district has replaced Karachi Central as Sindh’s most populated district in the recent census. It has five NA and 11 Sindh Assembly seats.

The atmosphere, however, here too was not as lively compared to the past elections.

On one of its seats — NA-249 — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s chief Shahbaz Sharif was contesting for the first time and his party’s presence was tangible across the constituency which encompasses whole Baldia Town.

MQM’s Aslam Shah, PPP’s Qadir Mandokhel and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Faisal Vawda were contesting against Mr Sharif.

The flags and banners of the PTI and the PPP were common. However, the MQM’s remained largely missing.

At a polling station in Faizul Islam School in Baldia Town, the turnout, as the polling staff suggested was around 20pc by around 2pm.

They said voters had just begun to arrive in good numbers.

“We believe the turnout is going to be better by closing time,” said an official. They also complained of insufficient supply of indelible ink and stamp pads.

Women voters

Officials at various polling stations in the district said the number of women voters was initially extremely low, but it improved with the passage of time.

“Women voters were almost not arriving here,” said an official at a polling station. However, he added, they were coming in satisfactory numbers a few hours before the polling time closed.

“Many of these women are housewives and a large number of them work in factories as well. They came as [and when they] were allowed by their preoccupations,” said an official at a women’s polling booth.

A number of areas forming NA-248 were presenting festive look nonetheless.

Bustle was witnessed in parts of NA-250 and other constituencies of the district as well.

An observer of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said his teams faced obstacles in doing their work by the security officials at a number of polling stations.

Personnel of Pakistan Army, police and paramilitary forces were there to take care of law and order. He said they witnessed workers of the PTI, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal entering various polling stations in the two districts carrying party materials and wearing party flags and “no one was there to stop them”.

Besides, some observers questioned the caretaker provincial administration’s claim that the government had provided ramps for voters with physical disability in some 98pc of the polling stations in the province.

However, as was witnessed such ramps were visible in only a few polling stations. The government’s promise, not to establish polling stations above the ground floors of buildings to ensure that disabled persons were facilitated, was seldom exercised.

‘Mute’ elections

The two parties — MQM-P and PPP — which historically have strongholds in the city and have their popular songs to motivate their supporters and workers, were seen giving little interest in dancing to the party tunes as polling was under way.

None of the MQM strongholds was seen with the party anthem for obvious reasons. However, if not in all areas, there were certain places in Lyari where PPP’s anthem was tangibly being missed — not for so obvious reasons.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2018