First-ever KP Assembly polls in ex-Fata today

PESHAWAR: All arrangements have been finalized for holding the first-ever provincial assembly election for 16 general seats today in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Suhail Ahmad, the spokesman for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Peshawazr, told The News that elaborate arrangements have been made for holding fair and transparent election in erstwhile Fata.

He said that 2.80 million voters, including 1.67 million men and 1.13 million women, are entitled to exercise their right to vote in the election.

Of the 1,896 polling stations, 482 are for men, 376 for women, and 1,038 are combined.

The official said that 285 candidates are in the run as 15 candidates in different constituencies have retired from the polls.

Among them are two women candidates, including Naheed Afridi of the Awami National Party and Malasa Bibi of Jamaat-i-Islami. They are contesting election in PK-106 Khyber and PK-109 Kurram constituencies, respectively.

The spokesman said that as per the ECP directions, CCTV cameras have been installed in the polling stations.

He said military personnel would be deployed outside 1,433 polling stations. They will be deployed inside 464 polling stations which have been declared most sensitive, he explained.

The spokesman said training of election staffers and their deployment have already been completed.

He said the polling material has been sealed in sacks and safely transported to the respective polling stations in complete security.

The official said the ECP Secretariat had constituted two teams for taking complaints and releasing initial results under the Additional Director-General. These teams will be working from July 20 to July 21.

According to the ECP data, the highest number of candidates i.e. 31 is in the PK-108 Kurram constituency, followed by 24 in PK-110 Orakzai, 22 in PK-109 Kurram, and 20 each in PK-105 Khyber and PK-114 South Waziristan.

In PK-106 Khyber, PK- 112 North Waziristan and PK-113 South Waziristan, 19 candidates each are in the field, followed by 18 candidates each in PK-104 Mohmand and PK- 111 North Waziristan.

A total of 15 candidates are in the run for PK-101 Bajaur while 14 contestants are facing each other in PK-103 Mohmand and PK- 107 Khyber constituencies.

Twelve candidates are contesting election in PK-103 Bajaur, and 10 each in PK-100 Bajaur and PK-115 ex-Frontier Regions.

Of the 16 general seats, Bajaur and Khyber tribal districts have three provincial assembly constituencies each and Mohmand, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan have two each.

Six former Frontier Regions of Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan and Tank jointly have one seat in the KP Assembly.

The five seats reserved for women and non-Muslims will be filled out through proportional representation of seats won by a political party.

Eight candidates are in the run for four seats reserved for women and three for a single seat reserved for non-Muslims.

The ECP will set up 5,653 polling booths for the polls, including 3,437 for men and 2,216 for women.

The largest number of voters registered in a constituency is 218,835 in PK-113 South Waziristan, including 122,197 men and 96,638 women.

A total of 216,719 voters, including 125,358 men and 91,361 women, will exercise their right to franchise in PK-102 Bajaur.

The registered voters in other constituencies include 216,131 in PK-107 Khyber, including 123,683 men and 92,450 women; 196,436 in PK-110 Orakzai, including 110,741 men and 85,695 women; 191,062 in PK-115 ex-Frontier Region, including 116,444 men and 74,618 women; 187,844 in PK-109 Kurram, including 105,284 men and 82,560 women; 179,124 in PK-112 North Waziristan, including 117,811 men and 61,313 women; 172,897 in PK-108 Kurram, including 99,534 men and 73,363 women; 170,022 in PK-104 Mohmand, including 106,749 men and 63,273 women; 167,994 in PK-114 South Waziristan, including 115,572 men and 52,422 women; 167,484 in PK-105 Khyber, including 94,514 men and 72,970 women; 161,047 in PK-101 Bajaur, including 94,349 men and 66,698 women; 156,237 in PK-100 Bajaur, including 94,937 men and 61,300 women; 148,470 in PK-106 Khyber, including 82,818 men and 65,652 women; 141,053 in PK-111 North Waziristan, including 92,845 men and 48,208 women, and 110,480 in PK-103 Mohmand, including 68,472 men and 42,008 women.

The ECP has also issued the code of conduct for electronic media for covering the election in the merged districts.