Political parties gear up for local bodies polls in cantonment boards

Major political parties have started flexing their muscles for the local bodies elections scheduled to be held in Sindh’s cantonment boards on a party basis on September 12.

There are eight cantonment boards in Sindh — six in Karachi and one each in Hyderabad adn Pano Aqil — and elections are held for general councillors in as many wards.

The Pakistan Peoples Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Pak Sarzameen Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz are the major political parties that will contest the polls in the cantonments boards.

Some of them have formed committees for shortlisting the names of potential candidates and running the campaigns. Independent candidates also take part in the polls.

Jamaat-e-Islami

The JI Karachi chapter recently held a meeting of its election cell to discuss the affairs related to the local bodies’ elections.

JI Karachi deputy chief Raja Arif Sultan headed a meeting, which was attended by the party’s Karachi chief, Hafiz Nameeur Rehman, and the district heads.

The meeting was told that the religious party had finalised its candidates in different wards, the process of setting up the elected offices had started and soon workers’ conventions would be held in these neighborhoods.

The participants were told that the JI would take part in the polls with its own flag and symbol. Considering the ground situation in some areas, the JI could also support candidates with a good reputation among the people, the meeting was told.

The participants presented a review report on the preparations for the elections in their respective wards and said a public relations campaign based on the issues of local residents had already been launched.

They also told the meeting that in communicating with the residents, JI workers had also been guiding them on how to resolve problems and use their votes properly.

JI Karachi chief Rehman said the religious party had been running the Karachi rights movement for a long time on the serious issues that the residents faced, such atrocities committed by the K-Electric, “The JI has successfully created public awareness among the people and it was the reason that people are participating in the JI protest rallies in large numbers,” said Rehman. “So it is necessary to make the contacts faster and effective for the success of the cantonment board elections.”

PML-N

The PML-N Sindh chapter on Monday announced its sub-committees for the eight cantonment boards in the province to oversee the polls and finalise the candidates.

The sub-committees were announced by Syed Munawar Raza, head of a province-level committee formed last week to oversee the polls. However, the finalisation of the candidates would be announced by the party’s provincial president, Shah Muhammad Shah.

Rana Ahsan and Javed Arsala Khan have been made chairman and secretary for a sub-committee for Malir Cantonment, while Sheikh Javed Mir and Khan Muhammad Tanoli have been made chairman and secretary for Clifton Cantonment.

For Faisal Cantonment, responsibly has been given to Tariq Mehmood and Saeed Hazarvi, while Haji Muhammad Iqbal and Sohail Naeem have been appointed chairman and secretary for Korangi Creek.

Similarly, Muhibullah Khan and Muhammad Ashfaq Hazarvi have been made chairman and secretary for Manora Cantonment, while Amin Khattak and Muhamamd Usman Ali have been chairman and secretary for Karachi Cantonment.

The party has also announced its sub-committee for the Hyderabad and Pano Aqil cantonment boards.

JUI-F

The JUI-F Sindh chapter also announced it will take part in the local government polls in the cantonment boards across the province. It was decided in a meeting recently held at the party’s office in Karachi.

JUI-F Sindh deputy chief Maulana Abdul Karim Abdi, central spokesperson Aslam Ghori and other leaders attended the meeting in which they asked the district leader to start preparations for the polls.

Nomination papers

According to the Election Commision of Pakistan, nomination papers are being issued to candidates from July 15.

The nominations will be accepted between July 26 and 29, while final lists will be posted on July 30. The documents will be scrutinised from July 31 to August 3, while the approval or rejection appeals will be filed from August 4 to 7. The appellate authority will deal with appeals on August 10. After which, the list of candidates will be released on August 11 based on valid document papers.