FC deployed for polls in sensitive areas

Published August 18, 2005

QUETTA, Aug 17: The Election Commission and the provincial government have completed the local body elections to be held in 13 districts of Balochistan on Thursday.

Personnel of Frontier Corps and other law-enforcement agencies have been deployed at the polling stations declared sensitive. They are Bolan, Sibi, Barkhan, Nasirabad and Jaffarabad districts.

It may be mentioned that all candidates have been elected unopposed in Dera Bugti district and Kahan tehsil of Kohlu district.

Candidates supported by former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali have been elected unopposed on all seats in 27 union councils.

Polling will be held in 231 union councils from 8am till 5pm.

After withdrawals and decisions on appeals against rejection and acceptance of nomination papers, 8,291 candidates are in the run.

Provincial Election Commissioner Chaudhry Qamaruz Zaman told Dawn on Wednesday: “FC troops have already moved into the sensitive areas and taken control of the polling stations.”

He said that in the first phase of the elections in the province, 77 panels of nazims and naib nazims, 105 minority members, 134 women and 89 men peasants and labourers, 114 women and 156 (general) councillors had been elected unopposed.

He said 1,367 polling stations and 3,576 polling booths had been established for over 1.5 million voters.