Election campaign 2013: around 149 incidents of violence reported: FAFEN

Around 149 incidents of election related violence took place during the election campaign from March 17 to May 09, 2013, in which approximately 189 people lost their lives and 667 were injured, Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) claims in its report on general election. The report terms the 2013 general election campaign was the most competitive and violent in the country's history.
The Awami National Party (ANP) was targeted most frequently during the campaign in 29 incidents. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was targeted in 23 incidents, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in 16 and the Pakistan Peoples Party in 12 incidents. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) were targeted in six and four incidents, respectively. Ten incidents involved independent candidates where their workers and supporters were targeted.
The hardest hit province was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, followed by Sindh and Balochistan. FATA saw relatively fewer incidents of election-related violence but the severe militant insurgency in the region continued unabated throughout the campaign. Punjab experienced the least election violence during this time; however, during the last week of the campaign, a string of incidents took place in the province.
The predominant targets of violence were political parties and candidates participating in polls. KP and Sindh saw the highest number of attacks on political parties, with Balochistan not far behind. Balochistan and KP were the provinces where candidates, in particular, were targeted most. Polling stations were targeted exclusively in Balochistan.
Bombing was a predominant tactic of election related violence, closely followed by gunfire. The high number of bomb blasts in election-related violence is consistent with the implication that most of the violence was perpetrated by militants. A few incidents also involved missiles and all these incidents happened in Balochistan. Clashes between political parties mostly involved exchange of gunfire. In two incidents - one in FATA and the other in Punjab, candidates were kidnapped by unidentified perpetrators.