KARACHI: Two candidates were elected unopposed in local government elections in the Pannu Aqil cantonment as no other contestant had submitted nomination papers besides them till the last date of March 31.

According to a list of nomination papers submitted by the last date for filing nomination papers, a total of 389 nomination papers were filed for the local government elections in 44 wards of the eight cantonments in Sindh.

Polling in the cantonment areas will be held on April 25.

In Karachi alone, 292 candidates are in the run in 32 wards of six cantonments. The two other cantonments are Hyderabad and Pannu Aqil.

The Pannu Aqil cantonment is the only cantonment board in the province where polling need not be held after only two candidates Ali Bux (ward-I) and Khan Mohammad Brohi (ward-II) had filed nomination papers for its two wards and returned unopposed on the two general seats up for grabs.

The number of candidates and wards in cantonments located in Karachi and Hyderabad are: Karachi’s Faisal Cantt (74 candidates in 10 wards), Manora Cantt (eight candidates in two wards), Clifton Cantt (117 in 10 wards), Karachi Cantt (35 in five wards), Malir Cantt (37 in three wards) and Korangi Creek Cantt (21 candidates in two wards).

In the 10 wards of Hyderabad cantonment, there are 95 candidates in the run.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will start on Thursday and will be completed by April 4 while appeal against acceptance or rejection of nomination papers can be filed by April 6 which will be decided by April 9.

The candidates will be allowed to withdraw their candidature by April 10. Polling will be held on April 25 and results will be announced on April 28.

ECP seeks party tickets

The Election Commission of Pakistan has taken measures to initiate the process of local government elections in all cantonments across the country on party basis in accordance with a high court order.

The Sindh election commissioner, Tanveer Zaki, told Dawn that in line with the court order, the commission directed the candidates to submit to the returning officer concerned a certificate inscribed on party letterhead duly signed by the party head or a person duly authorised by them under intimation to the provincial election commissioner concerned so that an election symbol could be allocated to them.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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