Mayoral hopefuls vying for PTI tickets

Sehriyar Riaz, Arif Abbasi, Tariq Kayani are said to be in the running

RAWALPINDI: Three Rawalpindi-based political workers of the ruling PTI are sparing no efforts as they jostle to win the party ticket for the upcoming mayoral elections in the garrison city, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Under the new local government system, which came into force in Punjab recently after law to the effect was passed, Rawalpindi has attained the status of a metropolitan municipal corporation (MMC) which will be governed by a lord mayor - much like provincial capital Lahore.

Under the new law, mayors for the municipal metropolitan corporations will be elected through direct elections, unlike in the past when people would elect their union council chairmen who would then vote to elect the mayor from among other elected nazims in the metropolitan corporation’s assembly.

Therefore, the local government elections are expected to create an atmosphere of mini-elections in the province.

The Express Tribune has learnt that there is a heated contest amongst members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who are vying for a party ticket for the mayoral elections.

There is PTI District President Sehriyar Riaz, former MPA and former chairman of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Arif Abbasi, and former district nazim Tariq Mehboob Kayani.

Party sources say that Riaz is a front runner as he enjoys the silent support of local party members and notables due to the political stature of his post at the district level.

Therefore, they said that there is a high chance that Riaz could be nominated for the hot seat.

The other two candidates, however, are not letting this deter them and are doing all that they can to garner party support as they attempt to run for office.

The Express Tribune has learnt that the former RDA chairman has been visiting the party's political leadership in Lahore to garner support for his bid as the next lord mayor of Rawalpindi.

Last year in May, the Punjab government had dissolved all local bodies in the province as it promulgated the Punjab Local Government Bill 2019. From May 1, 2020, the bill came into force and deputy commissioners, designated as the heads of District Transition Teams of their districts, were directed in a notification from the Punjab Local Government and Community Development (LG&CD) Department that the defunct union councils (UCs) will discontinue public services.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2020.