SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
Finally the Na-246 by-election is over and MQM stood victorious in the election. The voters have given their decision in favor of MQM. the way the MQM defeated its main competitor leaves much to be surprised about as all bets were on that the PTI would at least give the MQM a run for its money. However, with the MQM candidate bagging more than 90,000 votes and the PTI candidate, Imran Ismail, taking a fraction of that amount at a little over 22,000, the PTI had no way of making any decisive inroads in NA-246. The party to come in third was the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) with just 8,000 votes. Significantly, in this by-election, perceived as perhaps the most free and fair that Karachi has seen in a long time, the MQM’s share of valid votes, 74pc, was around the same in NA-246 during the last elections, a figure that was then allegedly boosted by ballot stuffing. The voter turnout is never really massive but for the NA-246 by-election this time, the turnout was surprisingly high that was almost 37%. Given its travails of late, this is for the MQM a sweet victory indeed — one that, for a change, is not marred by allegations of unfair means. The party obviously has a substantial vote bank, but it should not see this vindication at the hustings as an excuse to go back to its politics of protest and questionable tactics to either ‘control’ the city or manipulate political developments on a wider scale. Also , MQM workers attacked the party offices of the PTI soon after the results were announced, tearing down flexes and flags. What kind of victory celebration is this? It is extremely unbecoming of a winning party — any party — to display behaviour that is unruly and reflects badly on the party itself. However, when it comes to the MQM such tactics and demonstrations are not anything new. It has a reputation for high-handed tactics and muscle flexing. It also has a history of extortion and dubious practices. In this respect, the PTI showed restraint and grace. However this poll showed that democracy is maturing in Pakistan with a greater turn out even in by-elections and some of the credit also goes to PTI in this regard.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
