KARACHI, Sept 30: The Election Commission has started dispatching of election material to district returning officers (DROs) for polling for the third phase of the local government elections 2005.
Election commission sources said ballot papers were already being printed at the government printing press, which would be handed over to the returning officers before the polling schedule of Oct 6.
The electoral college consisting of members of union councils will elect city/district/town/tehsil nazims and members against reserved seats of women, peasants/workers and minorities.
According to the provincial election commission, there were four candidates left in the field for the slot of Karachi city nazim after the retirement of Ms Fauzia Wahab, candidate of the PPP-backed Awam Dost group and Syed Zahid Ali of the PML-N-backed Watan Nawaz group.
Two of the four candidates left in the run, Dr Muhammad Hanif and Rizwan Ikram Khanzada, are independents. This leaves only two main contenders for the slot, who are Syed Mustafa Kamal of the MQM-backed Haq Parast group and former City Nazim Niamatullah Khan, jointly fielded from the platform of Tameer-i-Karachi Ittehad backed by the PPP and the PML-N.
Besides the city nazim, the number of candidates in the field for the slots of town nazims includes: Keamari (seven), Site (four) Baldia (two), Orangi (two), North Nazimabad (two), New Karachi (two), Gulberg (two), Liaquatabad (two), Lyari (eight), Saddar (five), Jamshed (five), Gulshan-i-Iqbal (two), Shah Faisal (two), Landhi (four), Korangi (two), Malir (two), Bin Qasim (four), and Gadap (three).
Meanwhile, a meeting was held at the office of provincial election commissioner with Acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar in the chair. The meeting finalised arrangements for the third phase of the local bodies’ elections.
The provincial police officer Sindh, regional officers Sukkur and Hyderabad, and capital city police officer Karachi briefed the CEC about arrangements made for holding free, fair and impartial elections.
Similar arrangements would be adopted as were made during the first and second phases of the local bodies’ elections, they said.
The DG Rangers assured the CEC that every care would be taken to create confidence among voters and candidates.