A complaint being made by numerous candidates is that the setting up of polling stations at unsuitable locations and alleged plans by influential people not to allow women to cast vote would affect their turnout in Bannu and the adjoining North Waziristan tribal district on the polling day on July 25.

For example, addressing a press conference yesterday in Bannu, Pakistan Peoples Party candidate on NA-35 and PK-88 Yasmeen Safdar alleged that candidates of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had planned to rig elections in Bannu.

She said rival candidates were planning to stop women from casting vote in several union councils, including Kalakhel and Ismail Khani. She said women were being threatened not to visit polling stations on the polling day.

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