Only one non-Muslim running for chairman

In 12 districts, half a per cent women, minorities vying for top positions

ISLAMABAD: Not unlike the first two phases of the Punjab local government elections, participation of women and minorities is minimal in the final phase scheduled for December 5.

Among thousands of candidates contesting in the 12 districts of the province, just 116 are women and 54 minorities.

Among 5,251 candidates competing for the top two seats, only one non-Muslim is in the running for chairman’s slot and two others for vice-chairman.

The situation is not too different as regards women, which constitute around half of the population: only 18 women are in the running for chairman and eight for vice-chairman.

In the third and last phase of the LG elections, people will cast their ballots in Rawalpindi, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Narowal, Khushab, Jhang, Rajanpur, Muzaffarabad, Layyah and Rahim Yar Khan.

For district councils in these towns, 4,502 are running for chairman and vice-chairman. Another 749 are running for the top slots of municipal corporations to be formed in the smaller towns.



For the general councillor category, 22,921 are running for district councils, 3,831 for municipal corporations and 5,096 for municipal committees: among the total 31,848 contestants, only 91 are women and 51 minorities.

In the second phase of the Punjab LG polls held on November 19, there were only 59 women and 111 minorities among more than 27,500 contestants in 12 districts of the province.

Election authorities did not release detailed data of the contestants running in the first phase of the LG polls held on October 31 in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Chakwal, Bhakkar, Nankana Sahib, Kasur, Pakpattan, Okara, Lodhran, Vehari and Bahawalpur.

Though some women and minorities will be elected in the indirect polls once the three-phase direct elections are completed, participation of what are known as the marginalised segments of society in Pakistan remains dismal.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd,  2015.