Devolution of power: Over 2,000 candidates to contest capital’s LG polls

Polling scheme to be released today; party-wise list of contenders soon .

ISLAMABAD: As many as 2,396 candidates from across the federal capital will be on ballot in the local government (LG) elections scheduled for November 30. These will be the first ever LG polls in urban areas of the city.

Independents form a majority, while the rest will contest elections on the platform of nearly two-dozen political parties.

Some 2,958 candidates had submitted nomination papers, but 562 opted to withdraw from the final run after making political settlements with other contenders.

An Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) document states that 255 contenders will contest 50 slots of chairmen and vice-chairmen as joint candidates.

Similarly, 1,210 candidates will run for 300 general member seats, 351 for 100 seats reserved for women, 248 for 50 seats for workers, 230 for 50 seats for youth, and 102 will contest 50 seats for non-Muslim citizens.

Islamabad District Election Commissioner Chaudhry Aleem Shahab said that party-wise list of candidates was under compilation and would be finalised soon.

He said the election body was in process of finalisation of polling scheme, which would be released on Monday (today).

The ECP website states the number of registered voters in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) as 685,104 – including 314,257 women voters.

The ICT is divided into 50 union councils (UCs).

A district returning officer, 10 returning officers, and 20 assistant returning officers have been appointed by the ECP, who will conduct and supervise the elections process.

The federal government has already notified a 66-member Metropolitan Corporation (MC) in pursuance of Section 12 of the ICT Local Government Act 2015, which will run the affairs of the capital.

The 66-member MC will be formed through direct voting among elected members of the 50 UCs.

The MC will primarily perform several functions currently being managed by the CDA and the ICT Administration.

The notification states that the MC will consist of elected chairmen of all 50 UCs, nine women members, two worker members, a technocrat, two youth members, and two non-Muslim members.

Besides 50 elected chairmen of the UCs, the remaining 16 members of the MC would be chosen through elections among all the 650 UC members.

In the first session of the MC, all members would vote to elect a mayor and a deputy mayor as joint candidates for the city.

The process of LG elections will be completed with the election of the mayor and the deputy mayor.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2015.