Over 70 candidates vie for three Capital seats

PTI and PML-N major contenders in all three constituencies with Imran-Abbasi showdown in NA-53

ISLAMABAD: For the three national assembly seats up for grabs in the federal capital, as many as 76 candidates hope to battle for them, including heavyweights such as a former prime minister and a prime minister hopeful from Bani Gala.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday issued a final list of candidates still in the running while it also allotted symbols to the competing candidates.



The most exciting contest shaping up is between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan and former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

According to the final lists compiled by the three returning officers for the capital, a total of 76 candidates are in the running for the three seats.

One constituency, though, has attracted the most interest from candidates. The NA-53 Islamabad Capital Territory-II, which comprises most of the key urban areas of the city — including the seat of parliamentary power Parliament House and the PM House — and the Bhara Kahu rural area, will see as many as 36 candidates compete for it.

This is down from the 63 candidates who had initially filed nomination papers from the constituency. The list was whittled down after the scrutiny process and after some candidates voluntarily withdrew their nomination papers.

Apart from the contest between Imran and Abbasi, others vying for a seat include the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Syed Sabtul Haider Bukhari — the brother of former Senate chairman Nayyar Bukhari.

From the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Mian Aslam will be looking to secure an unlikely victory.

From the left of the field is Awami Worker’s Party’s (AWP’s) Ammar Rashid who is hoping to make a big impression on the residents of the numerous slums which fall within the constituency and where the party has been actively engaged over the past few years.

Candidate interest waned significantly for NA-54 Islamabad Capital Territory-III, where only 28 candidates will be in the running.

With the constituency comprising the remaining urban, suburban and a significant chunk of the city’s rural areas including Golra and Tarnol, the most prominent candidates vying for the seat include PML-N’s Anjum Aqeel Khan.

His main opponent for the constituency is PTI’s Asad Umar who hopes to make a return to the national assembly by representing the capital once more. He hopes to bag votes from the rural areas of the constituency where a majority of the voters live.



PPP is fielding Raja Imran Ashraf while the MMA has handed a ticket to Mian Muhammad Aslam.

“Even if I do not win, we will give tough time to both the PTI and PML-N candidates,” Ashraf claimed when asked about his chances in the constituency.

He added that the PML-N candidate does not enjoy good repute amongst the voters while Umar was fairly distant about the real challenges in the rural areas.

The least competition in the capital is found in the almost wholly rural seat of NA-52 Islamabad Capital Territory-I, where just 12 candidates are in the running.

The constituency largely comprises of housing societies.

Like in the other two constituencies, the main contest in this constituency seems to be amongst PML-N’s Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and PTI’s Raja Khurram Nawaz. The PPP has fielded Afzal Khokhar who has support from influential groups and communities in the area.

Dr Chaudhry has served as the minister for the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) during the PML-N’s tenure and spent five years working on core issues of the capital.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2018.