No candidates for 221 seats: Local polls in Balochistan
By Our Staff Correspondent
QUETTA, Aug 10: As many as 221 seats, including those for nazims, naib nazims, and male and female councillors, remained vacant in the second phase of the local bodies’ election in different union councils of 14 districts of Balochistan.
In the first phase of the local bodies polls in Balochistan 154 seats had remained vacant that included 144 for the minority community.
According to Provincial Election Commission sources, 166 vacant seats belong to the minority community, 24 belong to peasant women workers and 23 belong to Muslim women.
Eight seats of nazim and naib nazims also lie vacant in Kohlu and Qila Abdullah districts. “No candidate has filed nomination papers on seven out of eight vacant seats of nazims and naib nazims in Kohlu district,” sources said.
Dera Bugti was on top in vacant seats where no candidate has filed nomination papers on 45 seats that include 18 Muslim women seats, 18 peasant women workers seats and nine minority community seats. It was closely followed by Kech (Turbat) where 36 seats all belonging to the minority community are vacant while in Zhob none of the candidates were contesting the election on 31 seats that include 25 minority, four Muslim women and two peasant women workers.
In Qila Abdullah district, 21 seats are lying vacant, including 19 minority community, one nazim and one peasant women worker seats. Kalat has only five minority community seats on which no candidate has filed nomination papers.
Sources said that 154 seats of union councils in 14 other districts of the province also remained vacant in the first phase as no candidate had filed nomination papers on these seats.
Out of 154 seats of different union councils, 144 belong to the minorities while seven belong to women workers.
Giving the reason about not filing the nomination papers on 144 minority seats, the sources said that minority candidates of Hindu, Christian, Parsi and Qadyanis were not available in the interior of Balochistan.
The Election Commission of Pakistan had already announced to hold by-election of vacant seats after the completion of polling in both the phases.
