Candidates taking part in the elections violated the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) ban allowing the contesting candidates to provide transport to the voters for casting their votes at polling stations.
A visit to different polling stations of the twin cities revealed that this time the candidates adopted a different way to provide transport to the voters and were able saved themselves from ECP's wrath by hiring vehicles in their supporters' names and giving charge of the transport to their close aides who managed public gatherings and corner meetings during the last three weeks for them.
Adil Khan, a transport service provider, said supporters and candidates had booked mini buses, coasters and vans to pick and drop the voters on polling day. He said majority of the candidates and their supporters wanted high-roofs vans pickups and other such vehicles to accommodate maximum voters. In city area, the supporters hired cars to facilitate the voters, he added.
"During our door-to-door campaign in one of the constituency where the polling station was far away from the residential area, the women said that if they are not provided transport they would rather stay at home on May 11," he added. According to the section 18 of the ECP code of conduct: "Political parties, contesting candidates and their supporters shall not use any vehicle to transport to or from the polling station any elector except himself and members of his immediate family."
Majority of transport was hired by the candidates in semi-urban or rural constituencies where no public transport exists. "In the past elections, there was no such conditions imposed by the ECP on the candidates so there was freedom to provide transport to the voters openly and we booked vehicles according to need of voters," said a candidate contesting from NA 49 semi-urban constituency of the federal capital. He said that provision of transport to voters, especially female voters, was must to ensure their participation in electoral process.
Another candidate from the same constituency said the polling stations were established far away in rural and urban areas so contenders have to arrange transport for the voters. "In other words, providing transport to voters is assurance to them that we would serve them too after winning election," he observed.
Factually, the semi-urban and rural area people face problems in travelling from one place to the other or from their native town to their district headquarters or provincial headquarters, due to insufficient public transport. An activist of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Chakshezad area of Islamabad said that in his area, no public transport was available to the people.
Unfortunately, due to cold attitude of successive government towards education sector schools had also not been established in many rural areas of the federal capital, he said, adding that in such a scenario, voters needed to be moved to the polling stations established in villages which have schools.
In routine, kids from such villages went to schools on foot or on donkey carts due to non-existence of public transport, he said, adding that on the polling day, 'respected voters' could not be moved with disgrace on donkey carts and that's why vans, pick-ups, and tractor-trolleys were arranged to transport them. He further said that even the government did not ensure transport facilities to the government officials on election duty and they were reaching at their assigned places by themselves.