Local body elections are scheduled to be held in Punjab on the 5th of December 2015. Local elections are not fought on national themes but on a narrow platform of topical issues and problems. Local elections are held on non-party basis in most countries of the world because if political parties get involved they tend to use this occasion to divide the local communities along different population fault-lines such as rich and poor, sectarianism, ‘biradari-ism’, neighbourhood quarrels, and so on. This gives rise to polarisation in society which in turn proves injurious to national solidarity. Moreover, the candidates of the ruling party have the great advantage of possessing the ability to rig the polling stations to their advantage and it has been observed that it is usually the ruling party candidates who win local body elections. Union Council No. 80, tehsil Jatoi district Muzaffargarh presents a good case in point. A candidate for its chairmanship belongs to PML-N and lives in the thickly populated village Bhindi Korai where also are situated polling stations 1, 2, and 4. He is a very influential person and holds great authority on account of his enjoying support of the area’s MPAs and MNAs. He is bound to use every trick in the book to intimidate the police, polling officials, and his co-villagers to vote for him leaving no stone unturned to achieve victory. Anyone who can manipulate these three stations will carry the day. The government is requested to provide military personnel to guard the above-mentioned polling stations to serve the cause of justice.
YAR MUHAMMAD
Muzaffargarh
