October 6, 2005	Thursday	Ramazan 1, 1426

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FAISALABAD, Oct 5: The third and final phase of the local elections is being held across the Punjab on Thursday. Arrangements have been made for the election to the top slots of the City District Faisalabad and its eight towns — Lyallpur, Iqbal, Madina, Jinnah, Samundri, Tandlianwala, Chak Jhumra and Jaranwala.

Eight polling stations have been set up in the towns where 3,757 eligible voters would exercise their right to franchize.

The candidates are adopting every tactic to bring the voters from their houses to the polling stations for which they have hired hundreds of cabs, wagons and rickshaws. Some hopefuls have also arranged lavish parties for their voters on the election day.

The trend of paying bribes to the councillors, taking oath from them and getting their election and national identity cards was at its peak last night.

The candidates supported by the opposition are accusing government of using official machinery for the ruling party nominees. Hundreds of complaints have been sent to the district returning officer and the election commission authorities about pre-poll rigging.

For the top slot of the city district, a close contest is expected between ARD-nominated candidate Rana Zahid Tauseef, former MNA and brother of sitting PML-N MNA Rana Asif Tauseef and ruling party nominee MNA Ghulam Rasool Sahi, brother of Punjab Assembly speaker Muhammad Afzal Sahi.

For Lyallpur Town nazim, PML-backed Rana Zahid Mehmood and Zafar Iqbal Nagra, the opposition candidate, are in the race.

Sajjad Haider Cheema, son of former city tehsil nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema, is a candidate for the Iqbal Town nazim slot while ARD nominee Khalid Saeed Gill is his main rival.

In Jinnah Town, Adnan Tariq Pervez, son of former serviceman Tariq Pervez, is contesting the election and his rival is Shahzad Malik, brother of PML-N MPA Nawaz Malik.

Ruling party-supported Chaudhry Ali Akhtar Khan, younger brother of PML secretary-general Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan is vying for the Madina Town nazim seat. The ARD has fielded a newcomer, Rana Zulfiqar Ali, for the all-important position.

For Samundri Town, former tehsil nazim Rana Farooq Saeed Khan is a nominee from the ARD while the ruling PML have fielded Shah Nawaz, who is also a new face.

In Jaranwala Town, a triangular contest is expected between former provincial minister Chaudhry Muhammad Akram of the opposition, PML nominee Muneer Ahmad, a cousin of Federal Law Minister Wasi Zafar and former tehsil nazim Rana Abdul Rehman is an independent.

As for the Chak Jhumra Town nazim seat, former tehsil nazim Fawad Ahmad Cheema, a close friend of Speaker Afzal Sahi, is facing opposition nominee Dr Javed Iqbal.

In Tandlianwala, the ruling party has nominated former tehsil nazim Ali Gauhar Baloch, younger brother of MNA Rajab Ali Baloch, while ARD-nominated Chaudhry Muneer Ahmad for the same seat.

SIALKOT: The Sialkot district will see the first election in which the Variyo family, known as the political king-maker, is not involved.

Political analysts believe the election would lack the traditional vigour because of the absence of the Variyos, who have been left behind in the local politics despite winning most of the union council nazims seats in the Aug 18 polls.

They say it is the first time that the Variyos were not directly or indirectly participating in the polls.

Variyo family MPA Chaudhry Khush Akhtar Subhani said they had not decided about their support for any of the contenders.

TOBA TEK SINGH: The venue for the final phase of the local election has been changed from the TMA offices to the District Council Complex.

Ittehad group’s Dr Zahid Sattar and his covering candidates — Ghayyasuddin Janbaz and Amjad Javed — on Wednesday submitted applications to the district returning officer in which they complained that the ruling party tehsel nazim candidate Mian Javed Iqbal had hosted a dinner-cum-meeting of councillors, naib nazims and nazims at his factory.

Gujranwala: Around 2,330 votes of nazims, naib nazims and councillors of 188 union councils in the district will decide the fate of 573 candidates.

Three aspirants are in the run for the district nazim seat. However, the close contest is expected between ruling PML nominee and former district nazim Chaudhry Fiaz Ahmad Chattha, the son of NA’s Kashmir committee chairman Chaudhry Hamid Nasir Chattha, and ARD aspirant and former MNA Chaudhry Abdullah Virk. The latter was the PPP’s district president.

The maximum aspirants, 10 in numbers, will fight for the nazim seat in Naushera Virkan town, three for Qila Dedar Singh and five for Kamoki town.

While there will be one-to-one competition in three towns — Wazirabad, Nandipur and Aroop. The number of aspirants for nine seats of peasant and labour in the district council are 126 while the number for minority seats is 39.

It is learnt that senator Muhammad Anwer Bhinder’s son Naveed Anwer Bhinder is contesting for the nazim seat in Aroop town, while former MPA Chaudhry Zafarullah Cheema’s son Rizwan Zafar Cheema for Nandipur town slot.

Provincial food minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal’s son Asif Iqbal is fighting for Khiali town, while provincial transport minister Chaudhry Shamshad Ahmad Khan’s brother Sajjad Ahmad for Kamoki town, former city nazim Babu Javed Ahmad for Qila Dedar Singh town, former MPA Nawazish Ali Cheema for Wazirabad town and ruling party MPA Mudasser Qayyum Nahara’s brother Azhar Qayyum Nahara for Naushera Virkan town.

Meanwhile, the election commission has constituted polling stations for district and town nazim seats.

VEHARI: US consulate’s political officer Mr Bryanhunt on Wednesday met some local leaders of the ruling PML, PML-N, PPP and MMA, besides various district and tehsil nazim hopefuls.

The politicians who met the diplomat included Mumtaz Khichi, Shahid Mehdi Naseem, Tehmina Daultana, Zahid Wahla and Mian Saqib Khurshid.

The opposition candidates, during their meetings with the US diplomat, raised issues like pre-poll rigging and district administration’s support to the ruling party-backed candidates. They alleged that development works were being done by the district and tehsil administrations in the selected areas on the recommendations of official candidates.

The diplomat also visited the offices of election commission, DCO and DPO, besides visiting various police stations, hospital and the Press Club, to know the local government’s electoral arrangements.

Mr Bryanhunt told Dawn it was very difficult to say anything about the pre-poll rigging complaints. However, he said various candidates of tehsil and district nazim slots, who had met him, were critical of the ruling party-backed candidates.

Meanwhile, millions of rupees have been distributed among the councillors-elect to change loyalties, it is learnt.

A majority of councillors who had been shifted to undisclosed places a few days ago, returned to the city on Wednesday night with costly gifts purchased from Murree, Lahore and other parts of the country.

Sources said some groups would return here late night. A councillor’s demand has risen to Rs50,000, they added.

On condition of anonymity, a councillor who had sold his vote for Rs25,000, said he changed his loyalty when another candidate offered him Rs40,000. Some candidates shifted suspect voters to undisclosed places apprehending that their loyalties could be won by their opponents. They would be released at the time of polling.

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