Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
Honestly, please for God sake, invest some money in ECP - hire people from outside if your have to. Your democracy rest on this institution, and look how simply incompetent it is on all levels.
I mean 42,000 positions, 84,420 candidates and 11, 211 polling stations. Which retarded Election Commission tells a small under-resourced province to conduct the polling in a single day. Single day? Hight of stupidity and total regard for ground realities. Just shows that ECP run by bunch of unprofessional buffoons. If you can use your own common sense, just learn something useful by observing your neighbour India. Polling in India goes on for days and is done on state by state, and on individual district levels.
10 people have lost lives as fights were literally happening in every nook and corner, and police was beyond over stretched. No help of army. No rangers. Thank God there was no terrorist attack (mind you couple of bombs were disposed by police). A lot of old familial rivalry/tribal fights were happening on party tickets. Young lads with guns. WTF.
Despite security situation being so sensitive. Absolutely pathetic decision by ECP to hold such a massive level of polling on single day.
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
Not impossible you are right, but the situation of most of Pakistan is not normal. Conducting in phases would have given the ECP as well as provincial governments more resources to improve the process. Phased voting takes place in many countries, I believe even in Balochistan the LGE were phased. Anyways whats done is done, I hope the concerned learn from this exercise and improve it next time.
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
Obviously it single day polling is impossible as KPK had just managed to do that!
But it certainly compromised the quality of the process when resources are limited, and let’s not kid ourselves by assuming it is not the case in country like Pakistan. We must stop seeing polls as a periodic voting ritual, and seriously start to focusing on improving the overall qualities of the election process - starting from broad implications to small details. This is how you achieve transparent and legitimate democracy which runs on people’s trust on the system!
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
Yes it’s tragic that lives were lost, but unfortunately in this part of the world these skirmishes are part and parcel of the political cycle. It was a bad decision to hold the balloting for a single and I would agree with most that a phased process is advantageous that would not eliminate but reduce these incidents from taking place and result in more active participation of people to cast votes.
For comparison sake. If we look back to the Indian elections, being such a large country with a massive population, having held an election in a phased process almost always results in a smooth transition to power.
Our electoral process is still evolving and modest progress taking place at the local level is a positive step which can hopefully put pressure on the gov’t to carry out these local bodies in the rest of the country. LG polls took place in Baluchistan several months back, now KP is almost done, the gov’t shouldn’t drag its feet in the remaining provinces since the general election cycle is around the corner and those LG polls could be lost or forgotten.
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
Also, these type of elections aren’t going to be rig free but you can reduce the effects to a minimal by bringing those involved to be prosecuted regardless of political affiliation. The public is much more aware thanks to the media and now I believe the next major challenge for the ECP, SC, et al. is to educate the masses on the procedural aspects of completing ballots, recognizing the various forms, and how to cast the vote itself.
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
In addition, the ROs I believe should have some groundwork in the Election process to help ease the process of counting and handling the ballots which can result in a adequate outcome of the polls.
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
I was comparing it to the US and perhaps my own experience working in the elections. KP is not that huge, but I guess Pakistanis are way too uncivilized to not scuffle in elections. ghunda gardi ka aadat nahin jaati.
Btw, doesn’t KP have FC (frontier constabulary) aside from Police that could have helped if the other FC (frontier corps) and army are too busy in anti-TTP operations?
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
Both ECP and government should be blamed but it was a massive exercise 41000 elected candidates at gali mohalla level where EVERYONE carries a gun. A winning PTI candidate’s house was attacked yesterday killing his son. 6 people were killed after the elections when Independent candidate was holding a celebration party and some people opened fire on them. This has a lot to do with gun culture and mentality of people. I think biggest mistake they made was holding election on such massive scale in one single day.
As Mateen and Klasra said Zardari aur Nawaz ka dard samjha ja sakta hai k in parties ko buhat dard ho raha hai k jo kaam woh kai governments main reh k nahi kar paaye woh PTI ne 2 saal main kaisay kar liya aur oopar se 30% funds unko de diya jahan shahbaz rs3 tak nahi dena pasand karta.
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
After watching a few talkshows, it’s clear that all parties in KPK (except PTI) are saying these were most rigged elections in the history (hint same thing Imran Khan has been saying for 2013) and all police, patwari and EC were working under instructions from Imran and Khattak to rig the election (Repeating Imran’s accusations against PMLN in 2013). Even Altaf Hussain rang and said these were worst elections in history.
PTI is saying that it was a massive exercise and there were quite a few issues as these elections haven’t been held for years and this is their first government but if ECP believes the rigging was at massive scale then they are happy to go to re election. JUIF and ANP go all defensive about re election and obviously do not want that to happen knowing well nothing much will change. ANP’s senior leaderships accusations are quite funny “Pervez Khattak khud 6 -12 bajay tak election se aik din pehlay baith k thappay laga rahay thay” lol A CM doing rigging to win a councillor seat? hmmm…right!!
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
PTI (and all parties) said there was rigging in 2013, and PTI was the only party that asked four constituencies to be investigated as a litmus test (surprise surprise still no action after 3 years!)
If there is rigging in LG polls in KPK. Go ahead, give the names of the constituencies. Get the tribunal to investigate and call for re-elections. If you have no answers for this question then shut the hell up.
I’m so excited about the whole prospect of Peshawar getting a Mayor. The potential candidate from PTI is a young Younus Zaheer who is a British High Court Lawyer. Brilliant.
Re: KPK LB Election Mismanagement Rigging Firing and disturbance
Imran Khan just said in press conference that ECP is looking after all rigging cases but if people are still not happy then we are more than happy to go for re election and even under Army’s supervision. Let’s see if these parties are brave enough to go for re-election otherwise their drama will be exposed.
Also, good to learn about Younus Zaheer, inshallah he will be Mayor regardless if re-elections are held.
