The first phase of the local bodies election in Punjab and Sindh has been completed and there are no major surprises. Perhaps the only surprise is regarding the poor performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Punjab. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) remains the party to beat in Punjab, according to unofficial results of 2690 seats in Punjab PMLN leads with 1192 seats followed by the 1065 seats claimed by independent candidates. PTI who recently gave a tough competition to the ruling party in NA-122 by-polls could only secure 285 seats. The high number of seats won by independent candidates would have meant a huge set back for PMLN, however closer inspection shows that in most cases the independent candidates were also PMLN members who only contested as independents as they could not get the party ticket. PTI’s Lahore convener Shafqat Mahmood resigned from his position which clearly shows how the polls turned out to be an absolute disaster for the party. The party clearly needs to move on from its rigging mantra, which seems to have been rejected by the voters.
Sindh remains to be in the firm grip of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the party is in clear distance with 720 seats followed by Pakistan Muslim League-F with 74, whereas independent candidates grabbed 174 seats.
A number of conclusions can be drawn from the results, the first and the most obvious is that the results are a vote of confidence by the people for the governance and performance of PMLN and PPP in Punjab and Sindh respectively. The thumping victory for ruling parties in both provinces could also point to voters behavior of voting for the candidates who are closer to those in power.
Rulings parties in both provinces registered thumping wins in the first phase of local bodies elections.