ISLAMABAD: The process of local government (LG) elections in cantonments got under way on Monday with returning officers inviting through public notices nominations from candidates and setting March 29-31 to do so.

An Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) official told Dawn that every candidate would be required to deposit a non-refundable amount of Rs5,000 into the cantonment fund with the nomination papers under the Cantonments Local Government Rules 2015.

Know more: Schedule for LG polls in cantt areas announced

He said that candidates could contest polls from the ward in which they were enrolled as voters and each nomination would be required to be signed by a proposer and a seconder from the same ward. If any person subscribes as a proposer or seconder to more than one nomination paper, all such papers, except the one received first by the returning officer, will be declared void.

He said the limit of election campaign expenses for candidates had been fixed at Rs200,000.

The rules define the expenses as any expenditure incurred or payment made, whether by way of gift, loan, advance, deposit or otherwise, for the arrangement, conduct or benefit of or in connection with or incidental to the election of a candidate, including the expenditure on issuing pamphlets and advertisements in print and electronic media and cable TV networks, publications, banners, posters or any other means adopted for presenting to the voters the candidate or his views and aims. But the expenses do not include the deposit made in the cantonment fund.

Every returned candidate will have to submit after the publication of his name by the returning officer, and a contesting candidate within 45 days after the publication of the name of the returned candidate, a statement of election campaign expenses to the returning officer.

As soon as possible after the issuance of the notification of the names of elected members of the board, the returning officer through a public notice will call upon members of the board, in which special interest seats have been reserved, to elect members to represent peasants, youths, workers, women and non-Muslims.

The election of vice-president will be held in the first meeting of a cantonment board immediately after its assumption of office. The elected members of the board, including those on reserved seats, will form the electoral college to elect vice-president.

The official said that if the seat of an elected member became vacant during the term of office, a new member would be elected through bye-election and his term would continue so long as the member he had replaced would have been entitled to. Under the rules, he said, all bye-elections would be held twice a year on or dates fixed by the commission.

He said that the returning officer would appoint presiding officers and assistant presiding officers and would provide their polling station-wise list to the ECP at least 15 days before the polling day. No change in the list will be permissible without prior approval of the commission.

Published in Dawn March 24th , 2015

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