Capital polls

The fact that the people of the Islamabad Capital Territory were able to go to the polls for local bodies elections for the very first time ever is good news. The PML-N and the PTI remain locked in a close battle as voters elected 650 members of the 50 union councils in the area which comprises two NA constituencies. The NA constituencies are divided between the PTI and the PML-N. NA-48 was won by the PTI’s Asad Umar and NA-49 by Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry of the PML-N. The same break-up of support was reflected in the local bodies, the PML-N achieving a narrow lead with 21 seats while the PTI got 16 seats and independents claimed 13. What was also significant was the complete failure of other parties including the PPP and the JI to make any kind of mark on these polls. These parties appear to have simply vanished from the scene. The PML-N and the PTI are then strengthening their claim as the two major parties on Pakistan’s electoral scene. Their bitter rivalry too continues. This could be the deciding factor in the politics yet to come in the country over the future months and years.
Just over 2,400 candidates contested the 650 seats up for the taking. What was encouraging was that at least nine candidates belonging to minority groups were returned unopposed from their union councils. There were, however, no candidates for minorities on the reserved seats in 13 union councils. The chief election commissioner has expressed satisfaction over the polling. Election day proceeded peacefully, with very few incidents of unrest or unfair play reported. There was one report of a voter in Union Council 37 who discovered that his vote had been polled before he visited the booth. His thumb impression and vote has been kept in a sealed envelope for further investigation. Perhaps it is here that the biometric system of NADRA can come into play. The fact that the polls were uneventful is essentially excellent news. We seem to have been able to complete an important electoral exercise without any trouble. The closely contested election in an area where local government polls had never been held before has been completed. There were a few surprises with Imran Khan’s own union council seat going to the PML-N, and sitting MNAs were also unable to see candidates from their own party win in their union councils. The local bodies process in Islamabad is then over, and the manner in which it was held suggests the ECP has conducted it well with almost no complaints of unfair play.