By Farooq Tariq

Four supporters of Labour Party Pakistan have won as Nazims (union council mayor) during the second phase of the local bodies elections in Pakistan. Another Nazim candidate got 3600 votes but marginally lost. Yet three other Nazim candidates also got reasonable votes but lost.

At Hyderabad, Qasim Abad area, Labour Party Pakistan, Sindh chapter Chairperson Ali Hasan Jatoi contested for Naib Nazim as a candidate supported by Pakistan Peoples Party and won bagging 1750 votes.

Another counsellor won as well from the same constituency.

Dozens of counsellors supported by LPP have also won the election in different parts of the country. None of 11 women comrades from Lahore has lost from Lahore while we are waiting the final results for another five at the time of writing this report.

Okara

At Okara, Mehr Abdul Sattar, general secretary Anjaman Mozareen Punjab and member secretariat of Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, won the Nazim seat after a tough contest. He was supported by Labour Party Pakistan. It was one to one fight with a candidate supported by the defense minister of Pakistan, Rao Sakander Iqbal. Thus by military, rangers, police and also had a lot of money to spend. Mehr Abdul Sattar got 2570 votes won with a margin of 253 votes.

At Renala Khurd, Nadeen Asharaf another leader of Anjaman Mozareen Punjab and a long time support of LPP, won the Nazim slot by only 57 votes. He got 2354 votes.

The victory of these two nazims besides their respective panels of 11 counsellors is victory of the great peasant struggle at Military Farms launched by these two young leaders of AMP. The defense minister Rao Sakander, a close personal friend of General Musharraf, must be feeling the heat of this defeat as he was openly supporting our opponents.

It is worth mentioning that two persons lost lives during the election campaign in the constituency of Mehr Abdul Sattar. This was result of gangsterism by the opponent. A murder case was also registered against Mehr Abdul Sattar in a bid to frighten him. Among the two, one of our supporters was send to jail while he was severely injured by gunfire. He died at the jail hospital after two days.

I spoke to one of the last public rally during the election campaign at Okara with over 1000 in attendance. In my speech, I said voting for Abdul Sattar would strengthen the struggle of the peasantry for the ownership movement at Military Farms Okara.

Faisalabad

At Faisalabad, the third largest city of Pakistan with a large textile sector, Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM), an organisation of power looms workers put up four Nazim candidates with full panel of counsellors. Entire LQM leadership is member of Labour Party Pakistan. They contested election in the name of Labour Group. Umer Hayat Basra won the Nazim slot and received 2662 votes. He defeated Pakistan Peoples Party candidate who got nearly 1200 and ruling Muslim League candidate got 1301 votes.

Another Nazim candidate Sadiq Butt got 2398 votes and his main rival from ruling Muslim League, alsositting Nazim got, nearly 1500 votes.

While the other Nazim candidate Malik Ghulam Mustafa, getting 1056, lost by 290 votes. Another worker Rana Tahir got 679 votes for the fourth Nazim seat and lost.

Here are names and votes of the LQM winning counsellors

Malik Sakander Hayat 326, Malik Mohammed Ashraf 780, Shahnaz Habib 704, Kubra Shahin 809, Hashim Awan 813, Riaz raza 1700, Ghulam Rasool 709, Asif Masih 252, Mukhran Bibi 980, Altaf Jat 458,

I spoke at one of the last election rallies with over 2000 in attendance. The victories and the contesting of elections against the parties of the rich in this industrial city is tremendous step forward for the class struggle all over Pakistan.

Meanwhile, At Kheura, the salt mining city, our trade union leader Azmat Malik got 3600 votes but lost for the Nazim seat.

Qasur

A border city near India, LPP-backed Mazdoor Kissan Group contested for one Nazim seat and several counsellor seats. It is from this area Ted Grant groups Manzoor Ahmed was elected as MP. as Pakistan Peoples Party candidate in alst elections. It was the constituency of Manzoor Ahmed where we contested against PPP and Muslim League Q. PPP won the seat but we came second defeating the ruling Muslim League. Our young candidates Mohammed Javed and Mian Mohammed Azam lost the Nazim and Naib Nazim slot by nearly 300 votes. The exact number of votes is still awaited. The PPP used all sort of rigging methods to win this seat. It was first time that supporters of LPP were contesting from Qasur. The LPP Punjab Chairperson Choudry Imtiaz Ahmed has emerged as a leading figure of the working class of the district by putting up over 12 candidates, and organising several unions in the area. He is also legal adviser to most of the social organisation in the city.

Lahore

At Lahore 11 women comrades contested for the counsellor seats. We had no Nazim candidate in the city. At the time of writing this report, none of the eleven women comrades seems to be loosing. The election at two union councils are postponed after complaints of the rigging, we had two female comrades contesting from here. 6 women comrades are confirmed as winning candidates while the others are waiting for the result. Jamila Begum, the mother of the deceased Yasmeen Kanwal, an activist of Women Workers Help Line who was killed this year at the age of 24 has won for the counseller seat. One male comrade has also won while we are waiting the results of the others.

In both phases, LPP candidates got bit over 70 thousand votes despite LPP did not prepare as it should have. Lack of resources but above all bad planning is to blame for what could be even better performance. But the election results have enthused LPP members for new fights.