HYDERABAD: Elections for various categories of women, labour and minorities seats in union committees of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) were held on Wednesday.

Elections for two reserved seats of women in each union council were held in UC 1, 36, 48, 54, 55 and 92. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) bagged six women seats as against four secured by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

The results of one seat each of UC-55 and 92 were withheld.

PPP’s Arbab Ali and Rashid Masih were declared elected on the labour and minorities seats, respectively, in UC-55. MQM candidates for reserved seats in 78 UCs and PPP candidates for youths in 18 UCs had already been declared elected unopposed.

The elections for reserved seats in UCs 15, 17, 19 and 20 were also held in rural taluka where a district council is separately formed. The PPP bagged all reserved seats of minorities, women, labour/peasant and youth in UC-17 and 19. It also won the youth and peasant seats in UC-15 and UC-20, respectively.

The PPP had swept the seats of chairmen of 20 UCs, besides 20 seats reserved for district council, in the direct elections held earlier. Candidates for other seats of the remaining UCs of the district council have already returned unopposed, according to the unofficial results.

BADIN: In Badin district, the elections for reserved seats of women, minorities, youths and peasants were held on Wednesday in 30 UCs.

Five polling stations were set up in Badin city, Tando Bago, Matli, Shaheed Fazil Rahu and Talhar where elected local governments members cast their votes.

As complete results were awaited till the filing of this report late in the evening, trend showed that the Mirza group and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates were leading in Badin and Shaheed Fazil Rahu while PPP-backd candidates were leading in Matli and Talhar. A tough contest was, however, witnessed in Tando Bago.

No incident of violence was reported from any area in the province where the elections were held.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2016