The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Sunday won all the six constituencies in Sindh.
The director of the office of the Sindh Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the PPP had won five constituencies in Kashmore and Tharparkar districts where re-polling was carried out on Saturday under strict security arrangements. The PPP was also successful in the re-counting of ballots in PS-14 Jacobabad.
Analysts say the PPP’s success is particularly significant because it has already come into power in the province winning as many seats as required to form the provincial government and the voters realising that it was pointless to vote for a losing candidate.
Ali Hassan, a Hyderabad-based senior journalist, said, “It is certainly a factor that since the PPP has won majority of the seats in Sindh, the voters did not cast their vote for the losing candidates.”
He said he believes there were other factors which ensured the victory of the PPP in the re-polling of these five constituencies.
“Arbab Ghulam Rahim and his group did not do electioneering in Thar as they were under the impression that they were already known names in their area and thought that people would come in droves to vote for them. Also because of their strong-arm tactics of ransacking polling booths and other violent activities the people of their area were angry with them and they took it out by not voting for them.”
He added that because of the presence of at least three security personnel inside every polling station and as many personnel outside the station, the voters got a chance to vote freely and without undue pressure.
