Low turnout, high spirits observed in Cantonment Board Faisal elections

An extremely low turnout was observed in the Cantonment Board Faisal’s (CBF) elections on Sunday. Political parties and independent candidates, however, made their best efforts to mobilise voters.

Polling for 10 wards in the CBF’s jurisdiction was held on Sunday that ended at 5pm. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) seemed to be the major contenders in the elections. In a few wards, independent candidates seemed to enjoy good voter support.

Outside the PakTurk International School in Gulistan-e-Jauhar’s Block 14, various political parties had established their camps. The PTI, the PML-N, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Jamaat-e-Islami and independent candidates had their election camps side by side, devoid of any political sloganeering.

Surprisingly, in Ward 10 of the CBF, nomination papers of the MQM’s candidates were rejected. The party had announced its support for the PML-N candidate, Fasih-ur-Rehman. Outside the PakTurk International School, the MQM had merged its party camp with the PML-N’s and extended their support to the N-League candidate.

At the PPP camp, the party’s women workers were guiding voters. A party worker said they believed in their candidate’s victory, and no other political alliance could dent their chances of winning.

Yusuf Khalil at the JI’s camp said that the turnout was extremely low. “It’s Sunday, the temperature is high and people probably don’t have much interest in the polls,” he said, adding that the three-year performance of the PTI in the federal government would make them lose their vote bank.

At the PTI’s camp, meanwhile, there was a rush that used to be seen at the MQM’s camps set up outside polling stations in the past. The PTI’s joint secretary for Ferozabad, Adeel Khattak, seemed optimistic about their victory not only in Ward 10 of the CBF but in all the cantonments.

“The turnout isn’t bad. We have a rush of voters at our camp,” he said, adding that whatever development funds were carried out by their candidate Shakeel Ahmed through MNA funds would now translate into votes. There was another polling station set up inside Sindh Balochistan Society in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. An unusual political harmony was seen in the society outside the polling stations.

The PTI’s Noor Bangash, who was leading the party’s campaign, said that the PML-N’s candidate was his childhood friend, and that he personally knew the JI’s and the PPP’s candidates. He said that the polls were being carried out peacefully in the area.

Expulsion

The CBF’s district returning officer expelled PTI’s federal minister Ali Zaidi from the district. According to the notification issued by the officer, in pursuance of the power under Article 220 of the Constitution of Pakistan and Section 193 of the Election Act 2017, Zaidi was expelled from the constituency to ensure transparent, free and fair polls.

“As he is creating problems for the voters, and the code of conduct does not permit him to visit the constituency till the culmination of the election process,” read the notification.

The notification further barred MNAs, MPAs, senators, ministers and office-bearers of all the parties from visiting the areas falling under the jurisdictions of the CBF where polls were under way.

Zaidi claimed in a tweet that when he went inside the polling station to cast his vote, a law and order situation was created deliberately. He requested the PTI candidates to remain peaceful and serve the city by winning the elections.

Unofficial results

The PTI seems to have won the maximum number of wards in the CBF’s elections, according to the unofficial results. In Ward 1, the PPP’s Javed Khan won with 1,049 votes, with the PTI securing 770 votes to end up as runner-up.

In Ward 2, the JI’s Syed Ibne Hassan Hashmi won with 1,164 votes, while the PTI’s Muhammad Abdul Sami secured 475 votes. In Ward 3, independent candidate Muhammad Rafi Chawla won with 694 votes, with the JI’s Adnan Hussain securing 670 votes to end up as runner-up.

In Ward 4, the PML-N’s Ali Ashiq won with 402 votes, with the PTI securing 300 votes to end up as runner-up. In Ward 5, the PTI’s Syed Kashif Zaidi won with 753 votes, with the JI’s Muhammad Bilal securing 475 votes to end up as runner-up.

In Ward 6, the PTI’s Habib-ur-Rehman won with 716 votes, while the MQM secured 383 votes. In Ward 7, the PTI’s Zeeshan Bashir won with 1,077 votes, with the MQM’s Mirza Sheeraz securing 850 votes to end up as runner-up.

In Ward 8, the PTI’s Syed Muhammad Tariq Ashrafi won with 675 votes, while the JI’s Usama Siddiqui secured 387 votes. In Ward 9, the PTI’s Muhammad Bilal Ahmed won with 1,037 votes, while the JI’s Syed Muhammad Kashif secured 292 votes.

In Ward 10, the PTI’s Shakeel Ahmed won with 800 votes, with the JI’s Wisal Uddin Ahmed Ansari securing 230 votes to end up as runner-up.