A meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan under the Chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner former Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan is scheduled to be held here on Tuesday (today). The agenda of the meeting is to discuss and review the arrangements so far made regarding logistics, security issues and polling scheme etc for the upcoming Local Government Elections in Islamabad (ICT) scheduled to be held on November 30.
Senior offices of the ECP, Secretary Interior, Chief Commissioner and Inspector General of Police Islamabad, officer of Director General Military Operations, Managing Director Printing Corporation of Pakistan and District Returning Officer will attend the meeting.
According to the data of ECP, the nomination papers of 2,407 candidates have been accepted by the Returning Officers for 43 union councils. Candidates of 22 registered political parties are contesting the local government elections. Independent candidates are on the top with 972 candidates. As many as 506 candidates of Pakistan Muslim League (N) are contesting the elections. Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) awarded tickets to 479 candidates. As many as 164 candidates of Jamat-e-Islami, 81 ticket holders of PPP are contesting the elections. MQM did not award ticket to any candidate for Islamabad LB elections.
According to the data of ECP regarding polling scheme and voters' detail, more than 674,000 people will use their right to vote in the federal capital in which 366,000 male voters and 309,000 female voters are included. A total of 640 polling stations will be established of which 261 will be for males and 256 for females. However; 123 polling stations will be shared by both men and women.
All the political parties are ardently contesting LB polls to snatch victory as the elections will be held on as many as 650 seats in 50 union councils on November 30 while results will be declared on December 3. The authority has decided to hold elections from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm without any interruption. The ECP also issued code of conduct for upcoming local government elections in Islamabad, barring the holders of public office, including the president, prime minister and the chief ministers from visiting the union councils.
Independent candidates and PTI candidates expressed their concern over the appointment of Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry as the State Minister for Capital Administrations and Development Division (CADD) replacing Barrister Usman Ibrahim, ahead of local government elections. Dr Tariq MNA is elected MNA from Islamabad.
Law Maker Asad Umer reportedly expressed reservations over the appointment of Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and said PML-N was so scared of PTI's possible victory in the upcoming polls in the twin cities especially in Islamabad, as the prime minister had resorted to appointing his handpicked MNA as state minister for CADD to influence the polls.