12 October 2004	Tuesday	26 Shaban 1425

GILGIT, Oct 11: Over 500,000 registered voters of Northern Areas will go to polls on Tuesday to elect 24 members of Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC).

Election Commissioner of Northern Areas, Mohammad Ghazi Khan, told APP here on Monday that arrangements to hold free, fair and transparent elections in the area had been completed.

Mr Khan said that polling would start at 8.00am and would continue till 4.00pm without a break. However, the voters present within the premises of the polling stations would be allowed to cast votes even after 4pm.

He said that the total number of registered voters in the five districts - Gilgit, Skardu, Diamer, Ghizer and Ghanche - were 526,720 - the number of male voters being 283,805 and that of women voters 242,915.

The total population of the area is 870,347. He said that 125 candidates from different political parties and independents were contesting for the 24 seats of the Northern Areas Legislative Council.

Mohammad Ghazi Khan said that the voter's age is 21 and any voter can cast his vote by producing either the new computerized National Identity Card or the old one before the polling officers.

He said that election material had been dispatched to deputy commissioners/district election commissioners of the area of the five districts. -APP