Casting ballots: Candidature process starts for Cantt polls

PTI, JI decide not to face-off during elections.

NOWSHERA/ KOHAT/ PESHAWAR: As many as 88 candidates have obtained forms while three have submitted nomination papers for Peshawar Cantonment Board polls.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has appointed returning officers (RO) and assistant returning officers (ARO) in nine cantonments of the province. Scheduled for April 25, polls will be conducted in cantonments of Peshawar, Nowshera, Kohat, DI Khan, Mardan and Havelian.

Muhammad Saleem Hassan Wattoo has been appointed as the Peshawar RO. A councilor will be elected from each of the 5 wards of Peshawar Cantonment.

Four councillors will be elected from Nowshera cantonment, three from Risalpur and two from Cherat.

The submission of forms also started in the three cantonments of Nowshera. Around 40 forms have been issued, with four candidates submitted them. Nowshera cantonment secretary Mohsin Khan said all preparations have been made; polling will be conducted under strict security.

Elections will also be held in Bannu cantonment where several candidates have submitted nomination papers so far. The submission of papers is also under way in Kohat.

The Express Tribune learnt that Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have decided to not oppose each other in the polls.

According to the ECP schedule, the last date for the submission of nomination papers is March 31. It is pertinent to note cantonment elections will be held after a gap of 17 years.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2015.