LAHORE: Elections in Pakistan and especially in the city of Lahore are more like a festival.

The one-day political festival ended on a happy note with supporters of both the main contenders that are PML-N and PTI raising their party slogans or dancing to the tune of their party songs.

Though the results have yet started coming in the mood of people is festive. Even after a long tiring day no one is ready to go home and rest or take some sleep.

They are all out there waiting anxiously for the results to be announced. Today was an important day in the history of Pakistan.

It would mark the third time when the smooth transition of power from one democratic government to another would take place. For the past few days, the city had been in the grip of election fever which was on its peak today.

Earlier in the day, the weather was very hot and humid. Since it was a public holiday and the banks and all businesses were closed most of the people enjoyed the day with their own leisure activities before or after casting their vote.

Traditional food items like nihari, naan chanay, siri pai and halwa puri sold like hot cakes. It was witnessed that a large number of people went to polling stations from 8 am to Majority of the people cast their votes early to avoid waiting in long lines.

As the weather has been very humid for the past few weeks, people took water bottles with them to stay hydrated. The weather made them uncomfortable and it was difficult to breathe.

Despite the scorching heat of the day, the presence of a large number of people at the polling station indicated their responsibility towards the country.

The number of first-time voters is quite high in these elections. A large number of youngsters were voting for the first time. They were more excited than others while casting their votes.

The patriotic youth came out to fulfil their national duty. It is their constitutional right to vote and choose a leader. Not only first-time voters, but a large number of children accompanied their parents and elder siblings to the polling station.

Little girls were seen raising slogans of ‘Vote Ko Izzat Do’. Despite the rules of Election Commission to avoid wearing any clothes which depicted party affiliations, many people were found wearing scarves and shirts that depicted such.

People had flags of their specific parties on their cars. Some kids had also painted their favourite party flags on their faces. As the polling began at 8 am, the polling station witnessed a large influx of enthusiastic voters. But more people came out in the evening to cast their votes.

By that time, the weather had changed. Around 3 pm, dark clouds started covering the sun and cool breeze lowered the humidity levels. It started raining in some areas of Lahore. People were generally in a good mood today.

Some of them were found convincing others to vote for a specific party. In the evening the roads which were empty due to the national holiday began filling up with the enthusiastic supporters of political parties. Some polling stations were more crowded as compared to others.

Model Town witnessed a traffic blockade due to the rush of voters. DHA also witnessed a huge influx of voters in the polling station.