Lahore is politically a rich city and Lahoris always participate with zeal and zest in all political activities. There were 3,269 polling stations for the 4,343,329 registered voters in Lahore, where polling for local government elections was observed in an overall peaceful manner, and no major untoward incident was reported in the city.
Union Council (UC) 4, Ward No. 4 Presiding Officer, Muhammad Arif, told Pakistan Today that polling was observed peacefully in his polling station. There were no complaints from any voters or candidates. He said that the polling station had a 55 per cent turnout and people participated in large numbers.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Polling Agent Omer Farooq told Pakistan Today that some of his voters were not allowed to cast their votes through their driving licenses and passports. However, Arif explained that he had received clear instructions from the District Returning Officer that a voter can cast a vote only on an original National Identity Card.
In UC 1, which consists of Begam Kot area near Shahdara, the contest was between Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Abbas Jutt and PTI’s Malik Imtiaz. A survey of the station revealed that the PML-N candidate was the favourite. UC-1 had a large turnout.
UC 51, which comes under NA-120, had a surprisingly low turnout. This is the area where the current prime minister was elected to the National Assembly in the 2013 general elections.
A presiding officer from a women’s polling station, Ghazala Ashfaq, said that the turnout in her polling station was less than 25 per cent.
PTI supporter Hussnain Aslam told Pakistan Today that most of the people in the area are daily wagers and cannot sacrifice their earning for even a single day. He added that the incumbent government deserves full credit for holding local government polls because it gave many opportunities to local political workers to participate in political activities.
A presiding officer from the Karim Park area, Umar Rana, was of the view that the turnout in that area was lukewarm.
A PML-N supporter from UC-57, Anwar Khan, told Pakistan Today that not a single skirmish was reported from his UC because all the candidates and voters have known each other for many years.
He further added that he has been supporting PML-N since the past six years because this government resolved the issue of their Katchi Abadi. He said that the polls were a daring step, and these grass root level elections are the perfect nurseries for producing national level leaders.
Arif Nasim Kashmiri, a candidate for chairman of UC -34 on a PML-N ticket, told Pakistan Today that voters from his UC have broken all past records of turnout by using their right to vote.
Arif, who was elected a Nazim in the last polls, was of the view that it is a courageous step by the government to hold local bodies election.
Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif cast his vote in UC-70 near the Railway Station around 3.30pm amid the slogans of “Sher Aya, Sher Aya”.
A number of PTI workers complained that their votes have been transferred in different UCs and termed this activity rigging by the ruling party.
The police ensured that the polling was a successful exercise overall in the city. An SHO deputed in UC-51 told this scribe that the police have proved that it can ensure peaceful elections because things remained peaceful.
