297 vying for tribal districts polls

ISLAMABAD: A total of 297 candidates are contesting for 16 provincial assembly seats during the upcoming Newly-Merged Districts (NMDs) election on July 20, 2019, says a Fafen report.

According to the final list of polling stations, a total of 5,651 booths will be set up at 1,896 polling stations, of which nearly 61 percent (or 3,436) of the polling booths will be for men, who constitute almost 60 percent of the tribal merged districts registered voters, while the remaining (39 per cent or 2,215) polling booths will be for women voters.

The general elections in erstwhile the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) was held for 12 National Assembly (NA) seats with a total of 303 contesting candidates. However, a total of 297 candidates are contesting for 16 provincial assembly seats during the upcoming Newly-Merged Districts (NMDs) election.

The update-II comprises Fafen’s observation of 674 out of total 1,896 polling stations (PS) established for the upcoming NMDs election on July 20, 2019. The election update also includes an analysis of the final list of Polling Stations available on the ECP’s website.

The Election Commission will set up 1,896 PS comprising 5,651 polling booths for 27,98,277 registered voters, averaging one polling station for 1,476 voters. The average number of voters per polling station is marginally higher than it was in the general elections 2018, when 1,333 voters were assigned to each polling station on an average as per the Fafen second update report on the pre-election environment in the Newly-Merged Districts (NMDs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wednesday.

For the upcoming election, 104 polling stations (PS) will be set up in PK-100 (Bajaur-I), 103 in PK-101 (Bajaur-II); 131 in PK-102 (Bajaur-III), 86 in PK-103 (Mohmand-I), 108 in PK-104 (Mohmand-II); 110 in PK-105 (Khyber-I), 89 in PK-106 (Khyber-II), 146 in PK-107 (Khyber-III), 135 in PK-108 (Kurram-I), 130 in PK-109 (Kurram-II), 176 in PK-110 (Orakzai), 76 in PK-111 (North Waziristan-I), 102 in PK-112 (North Waziristan-II), 139 in PK-113 (South Waziristan-I), 98 in PK-114 (South Waziristan-II) and 163 in PK-115 (Ex-frontier regions).

The total number of PS includes the 44 being set up in Hangu and Kohat for the Internally Displaced Voters from PK-110 (Orakzai), and 14 in Bannu for Internally Displaced Voters from PK-112 (North Waziristan-II).

In comparison to last year’s election, as many as 2,85,976 voters have increased on the electoral rolls for the upcoming poll of KP assembly seats of the tribal districts. The number of men voters increased up to 9.5 percent (159,873 voters) and women voters up to 11 percent (126,103 voters).

As part of its election observation methodology, Fafen randomly sampled 50 electoral areas in each PA constituency and its observers visited polling stations in each of the sampled area for a basic facilities’ audit. Additionally, this election update includes perception of the candidates and voters towards the final list of polling stations for NMDs’ election.

Fafen initiated its assessment of the political environment and implementation of election-related laws, rules and regulations in April 2019 as part of its multi-phase observation of Provincial Assembly (PA) elections in NMDs.

The purpose of observation was to contribute to the evolution of an election process that is free, fair, transparent and accountable, in accordance with the requirements laid out in the Elections Act, 2017.