By-poll results a shock for ruling PTI
UNCERTAINTY OVER ECONOMIC REFORMS, INTERNAL PARTY RIFTS AND FAILURE TO STABILISE RUPEE TAKE HUGE TOLL
The more the leaders of Pakistan’s ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dismiss the notion that, in the October 14 bypolls, an overwhelming number of voters went against them, the stronger it becomes.
In less than 60 days, the party’s popularity appears to have plunged along with the stock market index and the public’s expectations.
The major setback for the PTI-run governments at the Centre, as well as in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), was the loss of two seats its chairman and prime minister of the country Imran Khan had won in the July 25 elections in the National Assembly (one in Lahore and one in Bannu), two seats in the Punjab Assembly (Jhelum and Dera Ghazi Khan), one in National Assembly (Attock) and two in Swat.
The PTI’s main rivals, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Mutahida Majlise-Amal (MMA) and Awami National Party (ANP) have grabbed these seats.
Imran upset
The results of the by-elections are shocking for the PTI and insiders told Gulf News that the Prime Minister was so upset with the results that he had summoned a meeting yesterday to introspect on the reasons for the party’s defeat in Sunday’s bypolls.
“The prime minister is going to take the local party leaders and the losing candidates to task for their poor performance,” sources said, adding that a rift inside the party at the local level over the division of tickets had also led to the party’s defeat.
Giving an example of Lahore’s NA-131, sources in PTI said there were more than five women Members of the National Assembly from the party in that constituency, However, they were not happy with the party high command’s decision to award a ticket to former PML-N and PML-Q leader Humayun Akhtar Khan and as a result did not show interest in running his campaign.
“As a result of their internal conflicts, now the PTI government will have to suffer the lethal criticism of Khwaja Saad Rafique who won from that constituency with a margin of 10,000 votes,” said a PTI central leader who requested not to be named.
Meanwhile, during a survey, the public also expressed their disappointment with the performance of the PTI government during its first 60 days.
‘Disappointed’
Amir Khan Alvi, a local trader in Islamabad’s Karachi Company market, was of the opinion that the government’s decision to go to the International Monetary Fund for the biggest loan in the history of the country had disappointed the masses and the opposition parties led by PML-N were taking advantage of that.
Naseem Akhtar, a teacher, said she was a vocal supporter of the PTI in the July 25 elections but after the government came to power and raised the prices of gas and other utilities, she changed her mind and in the bypolls voted for the PML-N candidate from NA-53, Islamabad.
Mian Aslam, a representative of the traders’ community and a former Member Parliament, told Gulf News that, never in the history of the country had the US dollar gone up to the level it is at present and despite the government’s announcement it was opting for the IMF package, there was no let-up in the Pakistani rupee’s free fall.
These are bad signs for the country’s economy and have left deep impact on voters’ psyche thus either they remained at home or voted against PTI on the by-election day, he said.