MANSEHRA: The returning officers have cleared nomination papers of all the 19 female contenders for local bodies’ polls in Torghar, a highly backward and conservative district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We received a total of 693 nomination papers, including 19 women, for 23 district and tehsil wards and 40 village and neighbourhood councils.

Overall, papers of 14 candidates were rejected, but none of the female contenders,” said Tahir Hassan, the district election commissioner, while speaking to media persons here the other day.

Torghar, which was given the status of a settled district through a presidential order in 2011, is populated by 174,682 people, and among them 41,601 men and 31,950 women are registered voters.

In the past, women have been barred from participating in the election process here, but the local government system introduced by PTI-led provincial ruling coalition has encouraged them to take part in the electoral process.

The election official said the district was consisted of a total 16 district wards, including seven of Judbahand nine of Hassanzai tehsils.

To a question, Mr Hassan said coming local government elections were a new phenomenon for the people of Torghar.

“As Torghar attained the status of a district in 2011, it missed the LG elections held in 2001-02 and in 2008,” he said, adding that percentage of women participation in the district for coming elations was too little as only 19 had fi led papers against a huge 91 seats reserved for women.

Meanwhile, PTI has fielded contenders in all the 16 union councils of the district.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F, which secured the only provincial assembly seat from the district in last general elections, has fielded its candidates in nine union councils, ANP in eight, JI in four, while six independents are also in the run.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2015

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