Delimitation for LG polls starts in Jhelum

After changes in Local Government Act, elections will be held at tehsil rather than district level

JHELUM: The provincial government has started finalising arrangements for local government elections following the delimitation of constituencies in Jhelum.

The delimitation process will be monitored by the city’s commissioner and deputy commissioner. The provincial authorities have also announced that the polls for local bodies are to be held within a year of the new delimitation.

Sources say that as per the new recommendations pertaining to changes in the Local Government Act, elections will be held at the level of tehsil rather than districts. It has been proposed that a comprehensive tehsil administration system will be introduced.

CM, Atif fall afoul of election code

The name of union councils would be replaced by neighbourhood council in urban areas and panchayats in rural areas. As per the proposed schedule, neighbourhood council with a population of 20,000 to 45,000 will comprise of five general councillors, two women councillors and one minority councillor.

Union councils with population of 12,000 and 20,000 people will comprise of four general councillors and one councillor each for women and minorities.

The same formula will also be applicable for rural areas, except that the polls for panchayats will be held on non-party basis. The elections for general councils will be held in a secret ballot with only one vote permitted for one councillor.

The contestants with the most votes will be declared successful while candidates with less than the specified number of votes will be considered unsuccessful. Similarly, women candidates on the top two positions will be declared elected.

Modi stuns opposition with huge election win

As per proposal, every voter will cast three votes in all comprising one each of general councillor, woman councillor and minority councillor.

The person taking the most votes in general seat will be elected as the chairman for the general council. The general councillor will be empowered to set up committees for housing, finance and others.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2019.