Over 63 party candidates of various political parties have filed nomination papers of which 21 are for national assembly and 42 for provincial assembly seats. PHOTO: FILE
With 43 days to go before the general elections, preparations are gaining momentum in the garrison city, with political parties finalising the names of their candidates. A great rush was witnessed at the Rawalpindi Judicial Complex over the last few days.
Filing papers
So far, over 63 party candidates of various political parties have filed nomination papers of which 21 are for national assembly and 42 for provincial assembly seats.
Those who filed papers for NA-50 are Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Murtaza Satti of PPP.
For NA-52 Khalid Mehmood Mirza of JI, Rehana Khan of MQM have submitted their papers.
Similarly, Mian Attiq of MQM has filed his papers for NA-54. Shahid Gillani of PTI, Tahir Iqbal Chishti of Sunni Tehreek and Akhwan Ahmad Khan of JI has also filed his papers from the same constituency.
After long deliberations Sheikh Rashid of Awami Muslim League (AML) has filed his paper for NA-55. Raja Aijaz of MQM and Gulzar Awan of Amn Party are also going to run for the seat of MNA in the same constituency.
Sheikh Rashid also filed his papers for NA-56. So far his competitors will be Raja Israr Abbasi of PPP, Habibullah Khan of ANP and Raza Ahmad Shah.
Meanwhile, Raja Pervez Ashraf of PPP has also filed his papers for NA-51, while Intikhab Hussain Shah of PPP has filed his papers for NA-53.
Time for strategies
Chaudhry Adnan of the PTI said a party committee has been constituted to work out a planned electoral alliance with Jamat-e-Islami and an announcement about this would be made soon. He said names have almost been finalised.
He claimed the PTI has a larger vote bank than the PML-N or PPP and was hopeful that his party “would clean sweep the forthcoming elections”.
Shujaat Haider Naqvi of the PPP said that his party was not going to discuss seat adjustments in Rawalpindi and would “go solo”. He was hopeful that the “brilliant performance of the PPP” and the “record number of development projects in the district” would help them win the most seats. He said the candidate list have been finalised and will be announced at a press conference.
When asked for details on some of the more prominent names, he said former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has kept the names secret as a large number of party leaders are expecting tickets for the general elections.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Awami Muslim League Chief Sheikh Rashid said that after deliberation he had filed nomination papers for both NA-55 and 56.
It is being stated that various political parties like PPP, PML-Q, Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan, Sunni Ittehad Council, Muttahida Deeni Mahaz and PTI could support Sheikh Rashid. In case these political parties announce their support for Sheikh Rashid, PML-N could face tough time in these areas, a source said. PML-N is currently having a difficult time nominating its candidate for NA-55, PP-11 and PP-12, he added.
Over 2.6 million voters are registered to cast their votes in Rawalpindi’s seven constituencies for the National Assembly and 14 constituencies of the provincial assembly. Of them, 1,403,624 are male voters, while 1,199,496 are females.
The Election Commission has set up 2,110 polling station, of which 684 are for males, 601 for females and 884 are combined. There will be a total of 5,042 polling booths set up in stations across the district, of which 2,678 are for men and 2,364 are for women.
The election staff comprising 2,110 presiding officers, 10,084 assistant presiding officers, 5,042 polling officers and 601 clerical staffers [naib qasid] will perform duties throughout the district on th election day.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2013.
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