As many as 69 legislators, including 23 members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and 46 members of the Punjab Provincial Assembly (MPAs) will be elected from among hundreds of candidates belonging to various political parties, besides independents in the general elections to be held on January 8.
Sources in the local Election Commission told APP on Monday that a total of 2.2 million registered voters would use their right of franchise in Multan district. According to a rough estimate, some 10 million voters will use their right of vote to elect their 69 representatives all over the six districts of the former Multan division.
Last time, the number of registered voters of the Multan district stood at 1.7 million and the voters' turnout in the elections 2002 was computed at 67 percent. Political pundits are of the opinion that if all major political parties including PML-N, PML-Q, PPP, MMA, MQM, ANP and regional parties participate in the elections it will be a big event and the voters turnout may exceed even the last time's 67 percent, which was quite high.
Till Sunday evening dozens of candidates had filed their nomination papers including 11 from Multan district. Prominent among them included PML-Q's Sikandar Hayat Bosan (former federal minister), PPP's Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Malik Liaquat Ali Dogar and MMA's former Justice Sheikh Khizer Hayat. Nizam-e-Mustafa Party leader Maulana Hamid Saeed Kazmi also filed his nomination papers for NA-150.
Election Commission sources said that polling officers and presiding officers for polling stations were being deputed to conduct the polling for National Assembly and Punjab Provincial Assembly on January 8.
The sources said that elaborate security arrangements were being made to hold the polling in the most transparent, free and fair manner so that this gigantic national exercise could be made above board and peaceful.
The districts, which are included in the Election Commission Multan region, are Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Pakpattan and Vehari. The sources in the Election Commission district Multan said that last year some 9,000 polling staff were deputed at 1,353 polling stations. Now the number may arise to 12,000 polling staff and 1,416 polling stations.
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