Polling for the national and provincial assemblies elections concluded peacefully in the city, with no complaints of rigging, manipulation or acts of lawlessness. Karachi has 20 seats in the National Assembly and 42 seats in the Sindh Assembly.
At some polling stations polling process had to start late as election material and staff had not reached in time. Voters began coming to the polling stations after 9:30 am but attendance gained momentum in the afternoon.
Rush of voters could be seen between 3 pm and 5 pm. At some polling stations, large numbers of voters, who had come inside the polling stations, were permitted to cast votes even after 5 pm.
Polling agents of PML (N) Rashida Kanwal and Mohammed Riaz; PPP's Rahim Gul, and ANP's Abdul Rahim in NA-257 and PS-121 at one of the polling stations set up in Pakistan Government Secondary School, Dawood Chawarangi, in Landhi area, said that they had no complaints of rigging, manipulation or misuse of ballot papers. They said that the entire process of voting was peaceful and the voters' turnout was "encouraging".
Mehtab Mirza, Assistant Presiding Office, said that the turnout of voters remained slow in the morning but by 4 pm people had begun to come in droves. "By 4 pm, 284 votes were cast against the total registered voters at that polling station 841."
At another Polling station set up at Jasmine Private School, Malir, Presiding Officer Professor Mohammed Irfan said that by 3:30 pm 861 votes were cast against 1491 registered voters.
He said that women voters came in large numbers and, at times, surpassed the number of male voters. The survey teams of the Business Recorder visited NA-239, PS-89, NA-250, NA-251, NA-253, NA-259, NA-257, PS-121, NA-255, PS-128, PS-126 and talked to voters and polling agents. There was a general sense of satisfaction over the entire election arrangements in their respective constituencies.
Despite a sense of satisfaction over the polling arrangements in the city, there were polling agents who expressed doubts about the fairness of the polling process, and reported acts of lawlessness. They, however, requested not to be quoted in the press.
Generally, the city remained peaceful. Police managed the affairs in a professional manner and its presence could be felt at almost all sensitive and non-sensitive places. They were polite with people but firm in matters of discipline.
Rangers were available in support of police . At sensitive polling stations rangers were seen managing the crowd. The government had declared public holiday to facilitate voting. Schools will remain closed on Tuesday as well. Public transport did not ply for fear of acts of violence. Commercial and industrial activities remained suspended and major shopping areas kept their shops closed. Roads, at places, gave deserted look.
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