NA passes bill to hold non-party LB polls in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday passed a bill paving way for local government elections in Islamabad to be held on a non-party basis.

The bill also fixed a 33-percent representation quota for women in the local bodies.

Meanwhile, the House rejected an amendment bill tabled by the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) proposing the local bodies’ election to be held on a party basis.

Presenting the government bill, Sheikh Aftab of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) said that every citizen should have the right to contest elections independently.

“We have always been against corruption, but why should we impose the party system on everyone?” he said.

Speaking on the floor of the assembly, PPP leader Khursheed Shah remarked that the law should amended to hold provincial and national assembly elections also on non-party basis.

The opposition leader said that non-party election had introduced corruption in Pakistani politics. He said that independent candidates always join the government if they are successful in elections.

If polls are held on a party-basis, candidates will stay in their own parties, he added.