HARIPUR, March 18: About 12 local government seats reserved for woman in different union councils of Haripur district will remain vacant as no papers were filed till the closing date fixed for filing nominations for the forthcoming by-elections, officials sources told Dawn here on Wednesday.

Women seats in total 44 union councils of the district have been lying vacant since the last local government polls of 2001 and the Election Commission has to announce by-elections on March 28, to fill these seats.

According to a schedule, March 8 was the last day for filing the nominations. But sources at the office of the assistant election commissioner Haripur confirmed that no candidate had filed papers for eight peasant workers and four general councillors seats of Panian, Kholian, Bait Gali and Nara Amazai.

Among these vacant seats, six were in the union council of Nara Amazai, known as the domain of Pukhtoon tribes, where women voters are always deprived of their right of franchise, and this time also women could not dare to file nominations for these reserved seats. Meanwhile, three women candidates returned unopposed in Qazi Pur, Baka and Beer.

MAN DIES: A resident of village Sera-e-Saleh, Mohammad Riaz, died when when a speeding Toyota Hiace hit him. He was crossing the GT road near his village.