Ruling party all set to grab capital’s mayorship

PML-N secures support of nine independents; to announce candidate for mayor soon

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has gained simple majority in the capital’s Metropolitan Corporation after nine independents announced their support to the ruling party on Monday.

The PML-N had secured 20 out of total 50 chairmen seats in the first-ever local government (LG) elections in the federal capital held on November 30.



With the announcement, the PML-N now leads the race with 29 chairmen, followed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with 16 seats, while five of the independents have yet to make a decision.

A total of 14 independents were elected as chairmen during the LG elections.

Nine independent chairmen-elects – eight of them hailing from rural union councils – announced their decision to join the PML-N at a press conference held at the party’s central secretariat.

The ICT Local Government Act 2015 provides that an independent candidate is bound to announce his/her allegiance with a political party within seven days of issuance of his/her result notification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).



The ECP notified the election results on December 5. The five independents can make the decision of joining any of the political party until December 12.

Those who joined the PML-N include Pir Adil Gilani (UC-2), Qazi Amir Aziz (UC-11), Chaudhry Nadeem (UC-14), Azhar Mughal (UC-12), Chaudhry Naeem Gujjar (UC-30), Ibrar Hussain Shah (UC-20), Haji Azam Khan (UC-48), Malik Rizwan (UC-47), and Haji Gulfaraz Khan (UC-45).

“The PML-N welcomes new entrants to party,” Fazl said adding they [independents] had posed their confidence in the party policies and leadership.

Fazl said that consultation over the PML-N’s candidate for mayor were underway and it would be announced soon.



“We are required 26 chairmen to form a simple majority in the Metropolitan Corporation and after today’s decision the PML-N has 29 chairmen,” he added.

Fazl said that majority of those who joined the PML-N were party workers and activists but denied party tickets during the elections.

Naeem Gujjar, who was elected from UC-30 after defeating PML-N senior leader Syed Zafar Ali Shah, told media that he announced his decision without having any assurance from the party leadership.

Now 50 chairmen will directly elect another 16 members, who will come on reserved seats, to form a 66-member Metropolitan Corporation, which will run affairs of the city. The 16 members will include nine women, two workers, a technocrat, and two youth and non-Muslim members each.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2015.