PESHAWAR, Aug 13: The provincial Election Commission (EC) has not so far received any complaint from any woman candidate contesting the Local Government polls, official sources told Dawn.

Reports about the signing of agreements by elders in some districts like Lower Dir and Batagram to stop women from contesting elections had been highlighted in the media.

Despite concern shown by civil society organisations and NGOs regarding opposition to women’s participation in the election, no woman candidate herself has filed any complaint with the complaint cell of the EC.

“Unless a woman files complaint regarding anything that is a hurdle for her, the EC cannot take any action,” said an official of the provincial EC.

Dir Area Development Project, an NGO, had filed a complaint about the agreement signed to stop women’s political participation in Upper Dir. The EC complaint cell invited the District Returning Officer’s comment on the issue but the complaint was found baseless.

There were also reports of hostile behaviour towards women’s participation in the LG polls in some parts of Swabi, Mardan, Tank and other districts. Surprisingly, not a single woman candidate has so far filed any complaint regarding any problem at the EC’s complaint cell.

On the other hand, male candidates have filed complaints about change of polling stations, political interference and “pre-poll rigging”.

The main complaint cell in the capital forwards to the concerned provincial EC’s complaint cell all the complaints which, in turn, contact DROs for investigation, officials said.

Recently, Sikander Hayat, a candidate for the nazim’s slot in Haripur district, filed a complaint against his opponent Mehr Reshad Khan, the brother of a provincial minister, for allegedly using government platform for the election of his brother. Akhtar Nawaz Khan, the provincial minister for transport, was supposed to inaugurate a hospital on August 14 at Kalabat Township which happens to be the union council where his brother was a candidate for nazim’s slot.

The DRO ordered the minister and the department concerned to postpone the inauguration till August 18 because it constituted a gross violation of the code of conduct for LG elections.