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Thursday March 28, 2024

Cantonment board elections: How the major political parties fared

By Tariq Butt
September 16, 2021

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) dominated the elections for the Cantonment Boards (CBs) in Punjab, leaving the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) far behind in the majority province. The PTI could secure only 28 seats in Punjab as against the PML-N’s 51. It suffered a big setback in the CBs of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Wah.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) maintained its poor performance in Punjab as it failed to bag even a single seat. Obviously, the biggest province is considered crucial for every political party eying the government at the federal level, as it contributes almost half of the National Assembly seats.

Despite facing a tough time over the past few years, the PMLN maintained its hold over Punjab where it had returned as the single largest party in the provincial assembly in the 2018 parliamentary polls and won all but one by-election held later.

In Multan, the hometown of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the PTI failed to bag even a single seat while the independents had an almost clean sweep as they won nine out of ten seats with one seat going to the PMLN.

In Lahore, PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Ayaz Sadiq, in whose National Assembly constituencies the Lahore cantonment boards fall, worked hard to show results. They feared that a poor showing would have an impact on the future general elections. They were successful in their mission and managed 15 out of 19 seats while the PTI could get only three seats.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the PTI maintained its superiority over other political parties. It secured 18 seats compared to the PML-N’s five seats, PPP’s three seats, and Awami National Party (ANP)’s two seats. Nine independents were also returned.

In Sindh, the PTI and PPP won 14 seats each while three seats were taken by the PML-N candidates. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) clinched 10 seats; and the Jamaat-e-Islami got five seats apart from ten independent winners.

In Balochistan, the PTI got three seats and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) secured two seats. Four independents also succeeded. The PML-N and PPP failed to get even a single seat from this province, which may prompt them to think about their credentials as federal parties with a say in all the federating units. In fact, the PML-N had not even fielded any candidate in this province.

All the 14 seats the PTI got from Sindh were in Karachi where the PPP bagged 11 seats. The PML-N’s performance in Rawalpindi turned out to be much better than previously as it secured 24 seats compared to the PTI’s seven seats. In the 2018 general elections, its dismal performance in Rawalpindi had been a source of embarrassment for the party.

The PTI managed to win seats in all the four provinces; the PML-N succeeded in three provinces – Punjab, Sindh and KP— and the PPP bagged seats in only two federating units – Sindh and KP.

Despite far fewer voters in the CBs elections, the electorate’s preferences still provide an opportunity to the political parties to do indulge in some introspection.

The hard facts thrown up by the elections are: the PTI faced defeat in Punjab at the hands of the PML-N; the PPP continues to remain non-existent in Punjab. Despite hectic and constant campaigning by its chairman Bilawal Bhutto, it remains at the same position where it was in the 2018 general elections; and the PMLN is still to put up any credible electoral show in KP, Sindh and Balochistan.

It was decimated in Balochistan in early 2018 when its entire parliamentary party in the Balochistan Assembly and its provincial government were taken away by the newly formed BAP, depriving it of a significant number of Senate seats.

The entry into the PPP fold of former Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri and Lt-Gen (R) Qadir Baloch recently did not seem to benefit it in the CBs elections in Balochistan.

In the 2016 elections for the CBs, some 55 independent candidates had returned as against the present tally of 51. A positive aspect of the polls is that every contesting political party has expressed satisfaction over the fairness and transparency of the elections. No accusing finger has been raised. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which supervised the exercise, is also pleased over its orderly conduct. There were hardly any major complaints of manipulation.

The PTI and PMLN won most of the seats of the CBs with those trailing them being left far behind. The difference of seats between them is extremely narrow. The PTI clinched 63 seats while the PMLN got 59 seats. The present elections proved that the actual electoral fight particularly in Punjab is likely to be between these two parties. The PPP’s lost fortunes in the majority province are yet to be revived.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which had matched the principal political parties in sponsoring candidates, was unable to win in any ward. The same was the fate of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF).