Koh-e-Daman residents hope polls will change their destiny

Candidates raise concerns about selection criteria, electioneering

PESHAWAR: For most residents of Koh-e-Daman, an area bordering Frontier Region (FR) Peshawar, the local government elections on May 30 will provide an opportunity to change their fate. However, some of them have voiced reservations about the selection of candidates and are ambivalent about the future.

The region comprises five union councils – Maryamzai, Azakhel, Mattani, Adezai and Sherakera – which have largely been neglected by successive governments since 1947.

According to residents, they have been deprived of basic facilities such as electricity, health care and education. Even though a large number of doctors, engineers, educationists, bureaucrats and army personnel have emerged from the region, there is only one higher secondary school for boys. Over the years, Koh-e-Daman has fallen prey to militancy. It has witnessed a series of suicide attacks and target killings which cast a shadow over the lives of its residents and weakened local leadership. Amid these challenges, LG elections have been viewed as an opportunity to transfer power to the grass roots and address the grievances of the public.

Seeds of doubt

Improvements in the education and health sectors and the provision of better facilities for irrigation feature in the manifestos of all LG candidates. However, residents have voiced reservations about these candidates as a majority of them are not qualified.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, residents from various villages of Maryamzai UC believe the Local Government Act 2013 should have placed an age limit and a minimum requirement of intermediate education for aspirants. Moreover, a resident insisted sustainable development could only come to the region if candidates consulted agricultural workers about projects.

Abdul Baqi, a former nazim of the UC, said the relevant authorities had not set out eligibility criteria for LG candidates.

“People who cannot read the newspaper are contesting for the polls,” he said. “I don’t think they will be able to do any good for the people if they cannot read or write.”

A matter of selection

Many LG candidates have also raised concerns about the selection criteria and electioneering practices in Koh-e-Daman.

“Candidates contesting for town and district seats are trying to persuade other candidates who are contesting for youth or peasant seats to vote for them in exchange for a vote,” said Malik Sardar Hassan, a contender for the LG polls. “This is unlikely to work.”

Muhammadi Gul, a candidate for a general councillor seat, believes the government should have set a minimum requirement of intermediate education. “Most candidates cannot even read in a regional language, let alone read a copy of the Local Government Act 2013,” he added.

The race is on

Nevertheless, candidates and political parties are all geared up for the polls. Jahanzeb Afridi, a former educationist in the region, who is contesting the polls on an ANP ticket, said his party would now be able to campaign for the elections as law and order was under control.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Wajid Khan, a candidate from Sherakera UC, said candidates are campaigning without fear as the security situation has improved.

He added stiff competition is likely between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami even though both parties form the coalition government in the province. Furthermore, PTI is likely to give ANP – which has remained popular in the region – a run for its money.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2015.