THE Karachiites are not getting good vibes from the emerging scenario. That is for sure. The provincial government has called in the army to maintain security and to patrol on polling days during the upcoming local bodies elections. The patrolling will particularly cover Karachi, Hyderabad and a few other rural towns of Sindh. Besides, Frontier Constabulary and Rangers would also be deployed and video cameras would be installed at vantage points, as Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, the acting chief election commissioner, has voiced fears of imminent clashes between political parties in sensitive areas.
With the atmosphere charged with extreme passion, it is no wonder that the election commissioner has declared 90 per cent ofthe polling stations in Karachi as sensitive
With the fear of possible riots being communicated to the citizens through various media reports and by word of mouth, the ambience in Karachi preceding the elections is one of impending doom. The man on the street is gearing up mentally — and in some cases even physically for another spate of bloody conflict in this city of teeming millions.
Rules for candidates running for the various offices of the city government as outlined by the election commissioners office are also pretty stringent and are reflective of the governments fears regarding disruption in law and order. The code of conduct outlines a ban on active campaigning by the candidates, which includes restrictions on banners and chalkings and prohibits corner meetings on streets or large gatherings for the purpose of cultivating a vote bank.
Interestingly, the code also puts a restriction on the candidates to run as nominees of a party. In fact, an undertaking is supposedly to be given by the candidates that they will not demonstrate any allegiance to a party. How this will all work out and what legal accountability is in place to effectively implement the code of conduct is rather ambiguous.
Defying the ban, various candidates already have their campaigns on in full swing. In violation of the polls code of conduct, political graffiti and posters are prominently visible particularly in the areas comprising Lyari township, Jamshed town, Saddar and Baldia town site to name a few. News reports taking a random survey show that besides wall chalkings, pamphlets are also being circulated. Besides, most major political parties are openly running campaigns for their candidates despite the polls being declared to run on non-party basis with ruling political parties more actively defying the ban.
The situation is quite different this time as compared to the last local bodies elections when the MQM boycotted the elections and so the other parties, namely the PPP and MMA faced lesser opposition. Not being a contender in the last elections, the MQM has no past to validate its good intentions either, hence their cause relies heavily on public campaign and their banners are the ones prominently being seen around town. Many believe that the Sindh governor has taken on the role of chief campaigner for party-based following and every now and then there is an official statement which affirms his governments efforts taken for Karachis development.
With the atmosphere charged with passion particularly in Karachi it is no wonder that 90% of the polling stations in Karachi city areas have been declared as sensitive by the election commissioner. The IG police Asad Jehangir has a nightmare in store for him and 23,000 policemen would reportedly be deployed in the 18 towns in Karachi alone, standing guard over 3,400 polling stations out of a total of 7000 stations in the whole of Sindh.
Most importantly, the polls process has compromised Karachis civic problems where unfinished projects of the last city government are severely impairing the citizens lives. The roads in almost the entire city are dug up, waste management is almost zero and commuting for the 14 million Karachi residents is a nightmare. Nazim Niamatullah Khan in a bid to go down in history as, the man who changed Karachi, launched a number of projects simultaneously, which should actually have been done in phases. With no alternate arrangements made specially while the road network was being overhauled, Karachi commuters are left to walk and drive over rubble or search for by lanes which offer even more bumpy terrain, hampered with pot holes.
About four years ago when the local bodies were set up in Pakistan with the ostensible aim of devolving power to the grassroots, people had applauded the due attention being given to Karachi, and the steps taken consequently to improve the state-of-affairs in the city.
The Nazim had boldly declared that hed expunge all of Karachis problems before the completion of his tenure and accordingly launched a number of projects centred on road and transport, health and education. Inspired by the Nazims zeal or perhaps motivated by apprehension of being undermined, he was followed by the provincial governor and the former chief minister, both of whom had also subsequently declared to do their utmost in their individual capacity to give Karachi a new look.
At the time we, the citizens foolish, resilient and trusting had tended to place our belief in all these notable officials as these eminent personages-in-charge had also assured us through well-worded statements that there is much harmony between their respective authorities and that the welfare of the province/city was their basic concern.
Though the elected Nazim did manage to complete a number of projects to revamp the road network and launched a few health projects, alas, there was a visible lack of coordination among the three key offices.
Former chief Minister Ali Muhammad Mahar, not being as bullish as Niamatullah Khan, could not stand his ground and made an early to exit when his ownership on areas became undermined and politics became rife in Karachi between the three chief areas of authority. The Karachi climate deteriorated even more and eventually ethnic issues became the political agenda and Karachi burned once again last May with news reports terming it, a battle ground.
Optimists would still like to believe that ethnicity will not return to this beleaguered city, but such optimism is perhaps futile as all indicators point in that direction. The spate of sectarian killings and racial clashes in the previous months are proof enough. But if the citizens or rather the optimists are truly concerned about the future of Karachi then it is their vote which will be (or should be) the deciding factor for Karachis fate following the upcoming local bodies elections.
With party politics banned in the polls, this is time to choose the citys representative on pure merit of the individual, discounting personal party leanings. We have seen time and again that party manifestoes (which mostly remain hazily in the background) are seldom adhered to by elected representatives who follow their personal agenda after assuming power. So the only advice voters would do well to follow is to opt for the individual whose personal agenda includes the running of his or her office solely for the purpose of transferring maximum benefit to the people. That is, IF, such an individual does exist, and, also, if the polls are really partyless.
Major electoral panels
The following are some of the major panels for the upcoming local bodies elections:
• Pakistan Peoples Party — Awam Dost Panel
• Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) — Haq Parast Group
• PML(N) — Watan Nawaz
• PML(Q) — Khushhal Pakistan
• PML(F) — Faqir Dost
• JI — Al Khidmat Group
• JUI(F) — Insaan Dost
• JUP — Al Khadim
• ANP — Khidmatgar
Besides, local alliances or groups have also emerged such as Taameer-i-Karachi, Karachi Ittehad and the Shehri Ittehad supported by the JI, as well as the Shikarpur Ittehad and the Khairpur Dost Panel.
Such groups are propped up by splinter groups of the major political parties or independent candidates. They have different names in different constituencies. In many areas, they are named after their biradri or clan etc. — Shamim-ur-Rehman
