Know your constituency: Karachi’s newest district doesn’t know its limits yet
This will be the first time Korangi will go to polls as a separate district
This will be the first time Korangi will go to polls as a separate district. PHOTO: EXPRESS/IRFAN ALI
KARACHI:
Since its demarcation as the sixth district of the city in November 2013, it is the first time that Korangi will hold elections in its new capacity. With hardly a few days left to the polls, however, the controversies over its delimitations linger on. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the party that claims to have a strong voter base in the district, has challenged delimitations of some its constituencies in the Sindh High Court.
Voter dynamics
The district comprises urban, rural and industrial areas and houses a mix population of Urdu-speakers, Punjabis, Baloch, Pakthun and Sindhis. Small pockets of immigrant populations, such as Bengalis and Burmese, also live in the area. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the district has the third-largest number of constituencies and fourth-largest number of voters for the local bodies’ polls. As many as 237 candidates, both affiliated with political parties and independent, have filed their nomination papers for the 74 seats of chairman and vice-chairman. Another 774 candidates are vying for the 222 posts of general councillors, an official of the Korangi District Municipal Corporation told The Express Tribune. “No candidate has been elected unopposed in this district,” he added.
Constituencies
Each of the union councils (UC) constitutes four wards. The representative of each ward is called a general councillor. The governing board of a UC will constitute 11 members, six of whom, including the chairman, vice-chairman and four general councillors, will be elected through direct polls. The remaining, two women, one youth, one labourer and one minority member, will be nominated by the winning panel. According to the ECP’s statistics, the total numbers of registered voters in the district is 1,183,536, making up 16.7 per cent of the total voters in the city. Of these, 57 per cent are male, while the remaining are female.
Grassroots representation: Stage set for third phase local government polls
Political divisions
Preparations
For the December 5 elections, 580 polling stations, catering to both male and female voters, will be set up across the district. In each of these polling stations, there will be four booths — two for men and as many for women. For Korangi, the ECP has notified 247 polling stations as most-sensitive and 306 sensitive. Only 27 polling stations in the whole district are being considered normal. Each polling station will be under a presiding officer and there will be eight times as many assistant presiding officers to conduct the polls smoothly. Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2015.
The newly-created Korangi district is set to vote for its representatives in the local government setup amid controversies regarding the delimitations of its boundaries. In fact, Korangi seems to be the most fiercely-contested district in the city and is the only one where not even a single candidate has been elected unopposed.
Since its demarcation as the sixth district of the city in November 2013, it is the first time that Korangi will hold elections in its new capacity. With hardly a few days left to the polls, however, the controversies over its delimitations linger on. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the party that claims to have a strong voter base in the district, has challenged delimitations of some its constituencies in the Sindh High Court.
Voter dynamics
The district comprises urban, rural and industrial areas and houses a mix population of Urdu-speakers, Punjabis, Baloch, Pakthun and Sindhis. Small pockets of immigrant populations, such as Bengalis and Burmese, also live in the area. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the district has the third-largest number of constituencies and fourth-largest number of voters for the local bodies’ polls. As many as 237 candidates, both affiliated with political parties and independent, have filed their nomination papers for the 74 seats of chairman and vice-chairman. Another 774 candidates are vying for the 222 posts of general councillors, an official of the Korangi District Municipal Corporation told The Express Tribune. “No candidate has been elected unopposed in this district,” he added.
Constituencies
Each of the union councils (UC) constitutes four wards. The representative of each ward is called a general councillor. The governing board of a UC will constitute 11 members, six of whom, including the chairman, vice-chairman and four general councillors, will be elected through direct polls. The remaining, two women, one youth, one labourer and one minority member, will be nominated by the winning panel. According to the ECP’s statistics, the total numbers of registered voters in the district is 1,183,536, making up 16.7 per cent of the total voters in the city. Of these, 57 per cent are male, while the remaining are female.
Grassroots representation: Stage set for third phase local government polls
Political divisions
Preparations
For the December 5 elections, 580 polling stations, catering to both male and female voters, will be set up across the district. In each of these polling stations, there will be four booths — two for men and as many for women. For Korangi, the ECP has notified 247 polling stations as most-sensitive and 306 sensitive. Only 27 polling stations in the whole district are being considered normal. Each polling station will be under a presiding officer and there will be eight times as many assistant presiding officers to conduct the polls smoothly. Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2015.