Though the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has managed to secure a victory in Karachi by securing 14 out of 21 seats. However, it has only managed to do so in constituencies where voter turnout was lowest. This happened in an election where voter turnout in Pakistan’s biggest metropolis was also lower than expected. Though 55 percent of Karachi’s voters participated the 2013 general elections, turnout was only 40 percent in 2018. It is not clear what prompted Karachiites to stay home on July 25, though terrorist violence in other parts of the country and allegations of pre-poll rigging by commentators and opinion makers cannot be counted out as factors.
What stands out most is an easily discernible pattern. PTI has performed the best in areas where voter turnout was lowest, while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) came out on top in constituencies with higher voter turnout. Three PTI candidates obtained less than 10 percent of the registered votes. This included NA-249’s Muhammad Faisal Vawda who defeated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif. Among all PTI candidates, it was the PTI Chief who secured most votes. He obtained 22.74 percent of votes in NA-243, where he won with 91,358 votes. Turnout in this constituency was 41.1 percent.
Also read: Purana Pakistan repackaged?
However, in NA-236 where turnout was highest at 50.4 percent, it was PPP’s Jam Abdul Karim who won by obtaining 28 percent of the total votes. Things were quite different in the rest of the city though, as turnout was below 40 percent in 11 of Karachi’s constituencies. On top of this, women’s voter turnout was also abysmal. Less than 30 percent of women voters came to polling stations in three constituencies.
Low turnout combined with the discovery of dumped ballot boxes and papers marked with votes for the PPP, PML-N and Muttahida Qaumi Movement near the Qayyumabad area have raised questions about the PTI’s victory in Karachi. The Election Commission of Pakistan and other relevant authorities must get to the bottom of why Karachiites, especially PPP supporters and women, were not able to cast their votes on Election Day. So far it seems, Pakistani democracy remains a work in progress. *
Published in Daily Times, August 2nd 2018.