LAHORE - A party ticket won’t matter much in the first ever party-based local polls due on October 31. Independent candidates also stand a fair chance of victory.
Analysts believe that election aspirants even with no political background could clinch their win provided they fulfill some other conditions.
ECP data shows a good number of independent candidates are in the run for different seats in the Union Councils (UCs) across Pakistan. More independent aspirants jumped into the race when political parties withheld tickets in some UCs to avoid creation of possible factions within the parties as different groups competed for the tickets.
“Dynamics of local polls are different from those of the general elections. A number of local factors less significant in general elections become all the more important in local bodies’”, political analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi said.
According to him, party ticket would be the second most preferred choice for the voters in these elections. “If a social worker is in the run for a councilor seat in a union council, he stands greater chance of victory compared to a candidate relying only on the party ticket,” he added.
Sports clubs in an area and civil society will also become more relevant as they are directly connected with the people. Personal relationships will also come into play.
“A candidate who is seen among the people more often on occasions like marriages, funerals and other social gatherings will have an upper hand over his rivals devoid of this quality”, Abdul Qadir Shaheen, a veteran PPP activist told The Nation.
He also attached greater importance to the role of local groups and biradaris (clans) in the coming local elections. “Affiliation with a political party may be an added advantage, but local political groupings would have a decisive role in the success or defeat of candidates”, he remarked.
The role of independently elected chairmen of Union Councils would become more important if there is strong competition between the parties over the election of chairman of a district council in the villages and that of a Mayor in the cities. Independents form alliances and dictate their terms on the parties needing their support.
Even after the general elections, independents play crucial role in case there is a hung parliament in place. They have held important ministries after successful bargaining with the political parties at the time of government formation.
Under a new legislation, they are now required either to join a political party immediately after their election or declare their independent status. But this law is not applicable on the local bodies which will be prone to their blackmailing during their entire tenure.