NewsDec 05 , 2015
Polling concludes in Punjab, Karachi for 3rd phase of LB elections
Strict security measures taken in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Multan, other areas for last phase of LB polls;10 army companies also deployed in Karachi
KARACHI/LAHORE: Polling for the third and final phase of local bodies (LB) elections concluded in 12 districts of Punjab and six of Karachi.
In Karachi, elections were held for one metropolitan corporation (KMC), six district municipal corporations (DMCs) — Karachi West, Karachi East, Karachi South, Karachi Central, Korangi and Malir — besides district councils covering the rural areas.
Polling for 247 union committees/ councils and 988 wards started at 7:30am and continued till 5:30pm without any break. Over 33 percent seats for women and 5 percent each for peasants, youth and minorities have been allotted in the KMC and six DMCs.
Amidst an ongoing operation against the criminal elements and rising sense of security, a vast majority of 7,082,319 eligible voters are expected to exercise their right of franchise today.
Eighteen candidates were elected unopposed in Karachi Central followed by 13 in West, nine in South, six in Malir and two in East.
Voters in urban areas of Karachi voted to elect a total of 1,210 members while those inhabiting its rural areas voted for 304 seats in 38 union councils.
The contenders contested for 209 union committees of urban areas and 38 union councils for the rural areas that only fall within the West and Malir districts of Karachi.
The 12 districts of Punjab, where elections were held, included Layyah, Rajanpur, DG Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rawalpindi, Jhang, Khushab, Multan, Sialkot, Narowal, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur.
On Friday evening, reports of polling material being shifted on rickshaws and motorcycles were received from Multan and Bahawalpur. In Rahim Yar Khan, two ambulances of a private hospital were used to transport the polling material.
The Sindh government, in consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), deployed 35,057 police personnel and 7,400 Rangers at polling stations in Karachi.
The security personnel were deployed at all 4,037 polling stations of the metropolis, of which 1,714 have been declared as most sensitive and 1,329 sensitive.
The Sindh Police chief, Ghulam Hyder Jamali, while briefing Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah on Friday, said there were three categories of force deployment — static, mobile and motorcycle patrolling, and the reserve platoons.
He claimed that deployment of force had been made on the basis of assessment of law and order situation and sensitivity of polling stations as per their history.
"Rangers will be assisting the police in ensuring a secure environment," he added. Jamali said the army was also deploying 10 companies, each containing 80 personnel.
The chief minister directed the IG to ensure proper security during the polling and till the counting and transfer the votes.
Home Secretary Mohammad Waseem told Qaim that 12 political parties — PPP, PML-N, MQM-A, PTI, Sunni Tehrik, JUI-F, Jamaat-e-Islami, JUI-P, ANP, PML-F, MQM-H, Qaumi Awami Tehrik — and a large number of independent candidates were contesting the elections.
A sizeable number of independent candidates enjoying support of their respective communities as well as tacit approval of certain political parties also contested the elections.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk
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