Highs and lows of PF-1 by-poll

Over-concerned parents looked at the government notification and wondered at the wisdom behind the announcement on April 11 of a local holiday meaning thereby the closure of all educational institutions in and around city.

With suppressed giggles the flippant students, on the other hand, felt overjoyed at the idea of having an extended weekend.

Teachers, however, thought that the new academic year was to start anyway from April 15 and the random closure of schools for a day did not greatly matter.

The compulsions of education department were all too evident as by-election to the NWFP Assembly seat from constituency PF-1 was scheduled for April 11.

Most of the 65 polling stations had been set up in local schools of the constituency.

The polling staff mostly comprised male and female schoolteachers. The transportation of the ballot papers, indelible ink and stamps had to be done on the same day.

Rehearsal of the polling staff hired by the election commission was also supposed to be carried out.

So the announcement of local holiday was fairly predictable at least for precocious children.

The well-contested by-election was won by Haji Aurangzeb Khan with a lead of 8,500 votes over his rival candidate.

Haji Aurangzeb obtained the maximum of 12,500 out of a total of 1,23,275 votes in his constituency.

He was supported jointly by Awami National Party, Pakistan People's Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam group) and Pakistan People's Party (Sherpao group).

In all about 13 contestants, including a female candidate, were in the electoral fray.

The second highest number of votes (4,000) was grabbed by the Jamaat-i-Islami's familiar candidate Haji Dost Muhammad.

The JI candidate was given a tough time not only by ANP's Aurangzeb but also by Dr Zakir Shah of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and to some extent by Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazlur Rehman group's Akhunzada Irfanullah Shah, whose supporters had plastered the available space on walls with huge colourful posters of their candidate.

Originally a total of 17 candidates had filed election papers but four of them later withdrew their candidature and in a way bowed out of the contest.

The contestants who were in the electoral fray as independent candidates but remained in low key included Aitebar Khan Yousafzai, Akram Khan, Anwar Gul, Behrullah, Muhammad Shahzeb, Mir Alam Khan and the woman candidate Ghaliba Khurshid.

At one stage on Saturday, the trigger-happy election workers resorted to gun firing near a polling station meant for female voters on Dalazak Road.

This led to panic and the voters scampered for life under the glare of television cameras.

The victory of Haji Aurangzeb Khan in the PF-1 by-poll was a foregone conclusion.

The sympathy vote was sure to come as the seat had fallen vacant after Aurangzeb's brother Alamzeb Khan MPA was killed in an explosion on Dalazak Road.

After inspecting the development work in his constituency he had hardly climbed back into his car when an improvised explosive device went off with a loud bang.

Aurangzeb was unanimously supported by four political parties which could each conveniently field a rival candidate against him.

After the unfortunate incident of gun firing on Saturday, when viewers saw people stampeding on Dalazak Road, the over-concerned parents momentarily heaved a sigh of relief at the thought that due to the public holiday their children were safe and sound within the four walls of the home otherwise the individuals stampeding on Dalazak Road could well have been their unwary children.

As stated above, the total number of registered voters in the constituency stood at 1,23,275 out of which 75,615 were in the category of male and 47,660 as female voters. About 34 of the polling stations were set up for male and 31 for female voters.

For by-poll, which lasted from 8am to 5pm, the election commission had engaged 65 presiding, 218 assistant presiding and an equal number of polling officers.

The election symbols are randomly allotted to contestants but they often carry an emotional connotation in the whole process.

Majority of the people is interested only in knowing as to who has emerged as the overall winner.

However, a tiny minority also likes to remember trivial things like the electoral symbols. Some readers, for instance, may like to know that, victory or defeat, Haji Aurangzeb was allotted the symbol of a lantern, Haji Dost Muhammad that of a clock, Irfanullah Shah a book, Dr Zakir Shah a lion, Aitebar Khan a crown, Anwar Gul an inkpot, Akram Khan a bull-cart, Behrullah a suitcase, Ghaliba Khurshid a house, Muhammad Shahzeb a letter-box and Mir Alam Khan was allotted the symbol of a football.

The independent election observers noted that the votes of religious parties - Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazlur Rehman group) - got divided this time as Haji Dost Muhammad and Irfanullah Shah were pitted against one another.

They carried out a lively and passionate election campaign and thus gave each other a tough time.

The independent candidates by and large fared ill.

The democratic process has created political awareness among the voters and they seem to know that independent candidates are not bound by any kind of party discipline or a personal code of ethics.

Whenever post-election alliances are cobbled together, more often than not the independent candidates are carried away by political expediency, opportunism and magnetic pull of material gains.

As against the independent candidates, those attached to established political parties are guided and motivated by lofty ideals and moral principles.

In recent history, the emerging forward blocs in various parties indicate that even political loyalties and moral principles do not strictly bind the elected representatives to any universally acknowledged code of ethics.

The elected representatives tend to get swayed by the slightest of temptations thrown in their way in terms of money and material.

Commitment to a great cause, devotion to a lofty ideal or fascination with a political ideology seems to be things of the distant past.