Poor turnout in PP-168 by-election

Asim Hussain *** Sher Ali Khalti

LAHORE: By-elections in PP-168 Lahore Thursday witnessed dull polling process and poor turnout with PML-N’s accusation of pre-poll rigging and arresting its scores of active workers at night before the polls.

The seat vacated by PML-N MNA Khwaja Saad Rafique, who kept the national assembly seat NA-131 in by-elections held in September last. Overall 11 candidates were in the run but the main contest was witnessed between ruling PTI's Malik Asad Ali Khokhar and PML-N's Rana Khalid Mehmood Qadri advocate.

The polling remained peaceful. Rangers and police personnel remained on guard inside and outside the polling stations. Media persons were barred from going inside the polling stations. The polling percentage remained below 25 per cent even until the last hours of polling time. The campaigners from the main candidates held that the main cause of poor turnout was that the government did not declare a local holiday for polling. Educational institutions other than those where polling stations were set up also remained open for routine education.

Former federal Minister for Commerce and Textile Muhammad Pervaiz Malik alleged that PTI government resorted to pre-poll rigging by registering bogus cases against over one hundred active workers of the party, out of which 35 were taken into custody by raiding their homes and polling camps after 2am before the polling day. Talking to The News at the main polling camp of PML-N on Ferozepur Road, he alleged that the arrested workers were kept in the Kahna police lockup.

Former PML-N MPA Ramzan Siddiq Bhatti who was also accompanying Pervaiz Malik said that PML-N managed to get the list of 100 workers to be arrested, and this timely move allowed them to shift the remaining 65 workers to other places to avoid arrests.

Pervaiz Malik alleged that the ruling party had purchased voters loyalties for Rs 3000 each and also kept their CNIC's as guarantee which were handed over to them only when they reached at the polling stations. Pervaiz Malik alleged that the entire family of Nawaz Sharif was being victimised to prevent them from leading the masses. He said Nawaz Sharif was waiting for the right time to come out and was weighing his option against the government's victimisation.