ISLAMABAD: Thousands of hopefuls filed their nomination papers on Friday, the last day for submitting nominations for the upcoming local government (LG) polls in the federal capital.

The first-ever LG polls in both rural as well as urban parts of Islamabad are slated to take place on July 25, but questions are being raised over the announcement of an election schedule by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)in the absence of a proper LG law for the capital. In the past, LG polls in Islamabad were held only in 12 urban union councils (UCs).

The ECP has, however, justified the announcement of a schedule by saying it was been ordered to do so by the Apex Court on the basis of the draft law, in anticipation of appropriate legislation by parliament.

The Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill had been passed by the National Assembly in March and is pending before a Senate sub-committee.

ECP official says list of eligible candidates will be finalised by Jun 30

An ECP official told Dawn all nomination papers received by Friday will notified on Saturday (today).

He said the district returning officer (DRO) would receive details from around a dozen ROs and this would take some time. He pointed out that nomination papers had even been received after the deadline.

He said that objections on the nomination papers will be received on Sunday, and the each candidate’s documents would be scrutinized over the two following days. He said that at the conclusion of the exercise, the names of the validly nominated candidates will be published on June 30.

He said that the local governments shall consist of a metropolitan corporation and 79 union councils and each UC shall have a chairman and vice chairman as joint candidates, six general members, two women, one peasant or worker, one youth member and one non-Muslim, where there were at least two hundred non-Muslim voters in the concerned UC.

Members shall be directly elected by voters registered in each UC and each voter will be given six ballot papers to cast votes in all categories.

The metropolitan corporation will consist of a mayor and deputy mayor as joint candidates, chairmen of all union councils, women, peasant and workers, technocrats, youth and non-Muslim members.

The mayor and deputy mayor of the metropolitan corporation will be chosen from amongst the elected members in the first meeting of the corporation.

The official said that under the draft LG law, a candidate — except for youth members — qualifies to contest the polls if he is a Pakistani citizen and not less than 25 years old on the last date fixed for filing nomination papers.

He said that candidates also have to be enrolled voters in the electoral rolls of the UC he/she is contesting from.

He said that dual nationals, convicts and government servants were barred under the law from contesting the polls.

He said a mayor, a deputy mayor, a chairman or a vice chairman may contest election for any other political office after resigning from the office.

Others members are allowed to contest polls for other political offices without resigning but after winning will have to decide which office they want to retain.

He said the term of the local governments in the federal capital will be five years commencing from the date of the first meeting.

Published in Dawn June 27th, 2015

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