NA-130 witnesses remarkable turnout of female voters

LAHORE: On the bustling polling day at NA-130 (Lahore-XIV) a remarkable turnout of women voters added a vibrant touch to the electoral process during the General Elections 2024 held here on Thursday.

Similarly, polling was held for two provincial assembly constituencies PP-173 and PP-174 in this area with roads full of election camps which added to election festivities and traditional fervor.

Almost all major political parties had fielded their candidates from this national assembly constituency NA-130, previously known as NA-125, which over the years is considered the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) stronghold.

This time PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PTI leader Yasmeen Rashid as independent candidate, PPP’s Iqbal Ahmad Khan, Jamat-e-Islami’s Sufi Khalique Ahmad Butt were some of the prominent contestants besides other independents and candidates from TLP and JUI etc.

The atmosphere remained lively and spirited throughout the day, characterized by a continuous flow of voters exercising their democratic right. A significant turnout of women voters was observed at different polling stations especially the ones set up in Sant Nagar area.

As per the record of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), there are 608,318 registered voters in NA-130, from where PML-N’s Waheed Alam (NA-125) had emerged victorious in 2018 general elections.

Of these registered voters as many as 323,100 are male voters while the remaining 285,218 are female voters.

The Election Commission of Pakistan had set up 376 polling stations across this national assembly constituency with 148 polling stations for the female voters alone. Besides 161 polling stations for male voters there were some 67 combined polling stations.

Talking to The News a PML-N supporter, Babar, said he voted for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif since the PML-N had done remarkable development works in this constituency over the years.

“One of PML-N’s mega projects is the establishment of a Sports Complex which was recently inaugurated by the Caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi,” Babar said and added everyone knew the project was initiated by the PML-N.

A PTI worker Irfan said he voted Dr Yasmin Rashid on the NA seat and Zubair Khan Niazi on the provincial assembly seat who both contested elections as independent candidates. “But every PTI supporter knew who our candidate was,” he added.

The day commenced with the opening of polling stations at 8 am, sparking a wave of excitement that reverberated throughout the constituency on Thursday. Against this backdrop, various political parties had set up election camps to assist voters with crucial information, such as their designated polling stations. Notably, workers from the PTI demonstrated a tech-savvy approach by utilizing mobile applications to access voter data efficiently.

However, amidst the festivities, some PTI workers were observed engaging in inappropriate sloganeering directed at PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, reflecting the charged nature of the electoral environment.

Despite these moments, the day was marked by a strong display of civic engagement and democratic participation, underscoring the significance of the electoral process in shaping the future of the nation.

Across the provincial capital, polling process continued peacefully from 8:00 am to 05:00 pm without any interval. Voters, who had entered their respective polling station till 5:00pm and were yet to exercise their right to vote, would only be allowed to cast their vote.

The total number of voters in Lahore is 12,164, 417 out which 3,636,253 are male and 3,221,841 females. The Election Commission of Pakistan had established a total of 4,357 polling stations in all the 14 National Assembly constituencies (NA-117 to NA-130) and respective constituencies of Provincial Assembly of Punjab (PP-245 to PP-274).

In the constituency NA129, PMLN and TLP supporters in their camps seemed very charged. They were attracting the people and persuaded the voters outside of the polling stations. While the camps of PTI, JI, and PPP seemed untouched by the people.

The voters were worried because their phones were not working over there. Zeal could be observed at the central offices of PMLN and TLP as well. The voters were in queue to cast votes in favour of their candidates on the occasion.