RAWALPINDI, Sept 22: Local government elections in the cantonments will be held in the last week of October, it has been learnt.

Though no formal directives have been issued by the National Reconstruction Bureau so far, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, on its own, has started preparations in this regard, well-placed sources told Dawn.

A team has been formed to carry out delineation of the constituencies. The sources said 15 union councils would be established out of the existing 10 wards of the cantonment board.

According to the structure of the local government system in the cantonment, the existing name of the cantonment board will be retained. The overall charge will remain with the army as at present, the station commander is the president of the board.

There will also be a vice-president of the board, comprising 42 members — half elected and half nominated. A Nazim, his Naib and about 19 councillors will be elected from each of the union councils. Moreover, five reserved seats will be kept for women, labourers and peasants. While the president is to be appointed by the army, the councillors, Nazims and Naib Nazims of the cantonment areas will form the electoral college for the vice- president.

Similarly, the nominated members — all serving army officers — will be appointed by the president upto the ranks of major and colonel. The role of Naib Nazims and councillors will remain limited to their respective union councils. Half of the board members will also be members of the Rawalpindi District Assembly to keep liaison with the district administration. The district government will also provide funds to the cantonment board in accordance with its population. Since, local government is a provincial subject, the defence ministry, which currently controls the cantonment affairs, will be relieved of this charge.

Decisions in the board will be made on the basis of simple majority.

According to the administrative structure, the head of the management, currently called chief executive officer, will be known as cantonment administrative officer (CAO). He will also be the chief accounting officer. There can be one or two additional CAOs, depending on the strength of a cantonment’s population.

The sources said the powers of the elected and the nominated members, the role of the vice-president as well as the station commander were the issues likely to result in conflicting viewpoints.

Our Reporter from Islamabad adds: The local government (LG) elections will be held in the capital on October 27, sources in the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) told Dawn on Sunday.

The bureau has fixed the date for holding LG polls in the capital and it has been conveyed to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the sources said.

They said the draft of the LG system in Islamabad had been distributed among the authorities concerned so that necessary arrangements could be made within the stipulated time.

However, the ordinance is yet to be promulgated by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

In the light of the draft, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has been directed to start making preparations for the elections.

A senior official of the ICT administration said a special meeting was held at the Chief Commissioner Office to discuss the devolution plan.

Meanwhile, some aspiring candidates of the LG polls have kicked off their campaigns and are approaching both government and political circles to get the top slots in the new setup.

The source said the number of candidates for the slot of district Nazim had reduced because some of them were contesting the general elections.

President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Munawar Mughal and Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Islamabad Mian Aslam, who had earlier announced their participation in the LG polls, are contesting for the National Assembly seats.

Others who had announced their participation in the LG elections were Dr Amjad, president of a welfare organization, ‘Shelter’; owner of Alvi Auctions, Amjad Alvi; Dr Waseem Shahzad; Zafar Bakhtawari, president of Blue Area Traders Association (BATA) etc.

The source told Dawn that Dr Amjad was being considered as the strongest candidate for the slot of district Nazim as he had the support of the bureaucracy, political parties and the masses.

When approached, some residents of Islamabad said only those persons should contest the polls who had worked for the welfare of the people, and not by those who were trying to win the elections simply to meet their own vested interests.

A resident of G-9/4 sector said majority of the candidates had done nothing for the betterment of the people and the capital.

Another person from G-6/1 sector said the government should not try to impose its own candidate on the people, but instead leave it on the people to decide who would be the best candidate for the slot of District Nazim.