The rout of the PTI and JI

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MQM proves itself

The NA-246 elections have been  held at a time when the MQM is in a tight corner on account of arrests of activists, confessional statements and reports of a key figure in Imran Farooq murder case having been nabbed.  Had the MQM been defeated or if there was a  reduction in the percentage of its share of  votes  compared to 2013,  this would have confirmed the perception that the party was losing support in urban Sindh.

Unusual  arrangements  were made by the ECP in N A-246 to ensure fair elections.  These included deployment  of 5,000 policemen and Rangers in the constituency,  installing security cameras at all polling stations and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of power in the constituency. Never before had such care been taken to stop rigging.

The  partial results show MQM far ahead of  PTI and JI.  A full   analysis of the results would be possible only after the official figures  of total votes cast along with  votes  secured by each party are released by the ECP. What is however amply clear is  that the  votes  jointly secured by the  PTI and JI, standing second and third consecutively,  are less than half of those got by the winner.

The results should be an eye opener for the establishment, the PTI  and JI. The establishment has to realise that  political parties can only be discredited through a  political process.  While  politicians indulging in crime must be brought to justice, cases alone may not make them unpopular. What is more, any perception of vindictiveness is liable to turn the leaders into martyrs in the eyes of their supporters. The PTI has to realise that hubris and hype cannot compensate for hard work. The JI has to understand that a small cadre party cannot defeat a well-entrenched party on its own.

The Karachi results would strengthen the ECP’s view  that while there  might have been irregularities and malpractices in individual constituencies, the 2013 elections  were on the whole  “a true and fair reflection” of the mandate given by the electorate.

1 COMMENT

  1. very balanced editorial…NA246 result proved that there was no mass rigging in election held in 2013,when there are genuine grievances it should be solved through political process not through state power or by media trail or Political repression be in Karachi or Baluchistan ,We lost half of Pakistan in 2013 due to this reason not giving due right…A nation moved forward when it learned from past mistake..

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