ECP receives 3,866 nominations for 1,212 MCI seats
SARDAR SIKANDER SHAHEEN
ISLAMABAD: The electoral body has received 3,866 nominations for 1,212 seats of Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad (MCI) for the local government elections taking place on the coming December 31 in all the 101 union councils of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
As many as 537 nominations have been received for 101 positions of chairmen/vice chairmen of the UCs, 1,945 nominations for 606 general seats, 546 nominations for 202 women seats, 344 nominations for 101 youth seats, 348 nominations for 101 labourers/peasants seats and 146 nominations 101 non-Muslim seats, according to the data issued by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
On November 3, the electoral body revised the date for LG elections from the coming December 24 to December 31 but kept the rest of the elections schedule unchanged. The LG polls date was revised on account of engagements of some senior ECP officials on December 24, it is learnt.
The local bodies in ICT completed their five-year term in February last year.
But, thereafter, the conduct of LG polls saw delay on one pretext or the other.
The ECP announced LG elections in ICT on July 31 this year but the federal government sought to delay these on the pretext that it increased the number of the UCs in the ICT from 50 to 101. The related case remained pending in Islamabad High Court (IHC).
On October 20, the ECP finally issued the schedule for LG polls in ICT.
According to this schedule, public notice inviting nominations for LG polls was issued on November 1, dates for filing of nomination papers: November 7-11, publication of names of the nominated candidates: November 14, scrutiny of nomination papers: November 15-18, filing of appeals against acceptance/rejection of nomination papers: November 21-23, deciding of appeals by the appellate authority: November 28, revised list of contesting candidates: November 29, withdrawal of candidate: November 30, allotment of electoral symbols to contesting candidates: December 1 and revised polling date: December 31.
