Filing of nomination papers begins

PESHAWAR: The submission of nomination papers for the local government elections started across the province on Monday as the polls are scheduled to be held on May 30.
In the provincial metropolis, the office of the deputy commissioner, who serves as returning officer for the polls, was full of the aspiring candidates and their supporters.The candidates supported by different political parties and independents submitted the nomination papers.
The last date for submission of nomination papers with a token fee of Rs10 has been set as April 17According to the election schedule, the initial list of candidates would be issued on April 18 and complaints about nomination papers would be submitted on April 19.
The scrutiny of the papers would be carried out from April 20 to 25. Appeals against acceptance or rejection of the nomination papers could be made from April 29 to May 4.The candidates would be allowed to withdraw nomination papers by May 25 and the election symbols would be allotted the same day.
The final list of candidates would be issued on May 6 and the polls would be held on May 30 across the province.The Election Commission has already issued code of conduct for the elections.
The visits of government functionaries to the local councils and wards have been banned. The government authorities have been stopped from making announcements of development projects n different areas.The code is not being followed in letter and spirit. The opposition parties have accused the government of violating the code by carrying out development projects in different areas.
They alleged the government had failed to carry out even a single mega development project anywhere in the province during its two years of rule. “But now when the schedule for the local government elections has been issued, funds were released for different projects, which is tantamount to pre-polls rigging,” they believedThe polls for village and neighbourhood councils would be held on non-party basis, while for the tehsil/town and district councils, the elections would be held on party basis.