DERA GHAZI KHAN: Elders of the Mazari Baloch tribe of Rujhan are at loggerheads for local elections which will be held here on Dec 5.

Rujhan tehsil of Rajanpur is dominated by the Mazari tribe and has 15 union councils including one of the Rujhan municipal committee having 12 wards. The Election Commission of Pakistan has established 112 polling stations and the number of registered voters is 142,178 (Rujhan municipal committee has 14,194).

In the 12 wards of Rujhan municipality, there will be a tough contest between the PTI and PML-N. The latter expects success at many places due to its development work.

In union council Gianmal , the PML-N has an edge as Musarat Khan Mazari is in the race for chairman and Akram Khan for vice chairman against PTI’s Muhammad Ayub and Dilawar Khan.

In union council Sabzani, there will be a one-on-one contest between the PTI (Attaullah and Mohammad Younis) and and the PML-N (Ibrahim and Muhammad Akbar).

Umerkot UC is where again the ruling party dominates; the contest will be between the PTI (Zahid Hussain Mazari, son of tribal chief and former prime minister Mir Balakh Sher Mazari and Arshad) and the PML-N (Safdar Mazari and Rasheed Ahmad).

Among other UCs is Gadanarr, where the PTI candidates backed by tribal elder Saleem Jan Mazari seem in a better position.

Interestingly, a PTI stalwart is not backing the party panel in union council Kacha Mianwali but extending support to independent candidates as Atif Mazari of PML-N, Shireen Mazari of the PTI and her brother Wali Mazari are supporting the independent candidates.

Councillors Munir, Mumtaz, Karim Bakhsh and Farman of independent panel have already been elected unopposed.

In Bailey Shah, the PTI is in a good position against the PML-N and independent candidates.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015