LAHORE: Unlike previous elections in Lahore, the NA-122 constituents were visibly happy while casting their votes in what they called a “hassle-free environment” and expressed their desire that all future elections in the country should be held under the supervision of the army.

The polling day saw unprecedented discipline and relative calm, said most voters Dawn spoke to at various stations. Women voters were feeling more ‘protected and confident’ while heading towards their polling stations under the security cover.

Inside most polling booths the environment was quite ‘voter friendly’. There were queues which no one dared jump. And the election staff and polling agents seemed more focused and ensured that the process continued without hiccups.

“There was a queue of about 50 people when I reached the Shadman polling station. It did not take much for me to get my turn to cast the vote due to army presence,” said Usama Ahmed, a banker by profession. He suggested that such a discipline should be maintained in future elections too.

Voters laud army role, break into joyous eruptions

“Owing to the army’s presence the ruling party cannot do anything wrong in the polling booths but it is not clear whether the same transparency is maintained at the returning officers’ offices,” said Muhammad Amin, a resident of Ichhra.

Unlike the past practice, the law-enforcement agencies had placed barricades at quite a distance from the polling booths. The traffic was diverted from these points by the wardens.

VOTER LIST ISSUES: There were few problems though. Many voters were unhappy about the lists which they said caused a great deal of inconvenience to them in finding out their polling stations.

At Shama Pir Ghazi Road polling station, people were seen complaining about their names being missed in the voter lists. “I have come here along with my wife but we are told by the polling camp members that our votes have been moved to Sodiwal,” Muhammad Ashraf said.

Hasan Abbas Bharwana said he had cast his ballot at the Shama Chowk in the 2013 elections but today he came to know that his vote was now registered in Samanabad. “How can this happen. There must be some manoeuvering,” Bharwana left the polling station cursing the government.

Among others, Imtiaz Ali and Muhammad Imran Saeed were upset over not finding their names in the lists. They alleged that since their rivals knew that they were supporters of the PTI, they had managed to obliterate their names from the voter lists of the polling station near their residences. “Such tricks won’t work,” commented Ali.

ENTHUSIASM: It was a day of enthusiasm and celebration for a large number of people who saw a tough contest for the NA-122 by-election between PML-N’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Abdul Aleem Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. The voters never shied of disclosing their loyalty to a party.

Faisal Aziz, who works in an IT company, said: “We want change and have voted for it. Even if we don’t win today’s poll, we will not give up and rather focus on next elections.” Mr Aziz’s wife was equally enthusiastic. “I voted for bat and even tried to persuade a couple of women before entering the polling station to vote for the PTI. We are voting for an ideology – a corruption-free society,” she said.

In most areas there was zeal and zest in the PML-N camps and their loyalists were confident about winning. “I voted for lion as we have been supporting Nawaz Sharif for two decades,” Arif Chishti of Ghari Shahu said. He said the PML-N government had done a lot for Lahore and it was not easy for Lahorites to switch loyalties.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2015

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