Cantonment elections underway after 17 years hiatus

The polling process started at 08:00 am and will continue till 05:00 pm

It should be noted that the polls are being held after 17 years.

According to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 1.87 million voters will exercise their right to vote today. 541 candidates from 18 different political parties are contesting the election today.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has fielded 137 candidates in the four provinces, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) 128, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) 89, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) 74, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek 27 each, Awami National Party (ANP) 13, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) 9 and Awami Muslim League (AML) with seven candidates.

The Commission has set up 1,225 polling stations in the four provinces to hold Cantonment Board elections. There are 130 polling stations, which have been declared sensitive, the highest being 102 in Punjab.

ECP has also set an Election Cell at its Secretariat in Islamabad to receive complaints. The election cell will also receive preliminary results.

The cantonment boards where elections would be held are Lahore, Walton (Lahore), Sargodha, Shorkot, Gujranwala, Kharian, Sialkot, Okara, Multan, Bahawalpur, Pano Aqil, Hyderabad, Faisal, Manora, Clifton, Malir, Karachi, Korangi Creek, Zhob, Loralai and Quetta, Peshawar, Nowehera, Risalpur, Cherat, Mardan, Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Abbottabad, Havelian, Murree Gallis, Murree Hills, Rawalpindi, Chaklala (Rawalpindi), Murree, Sanjwal, Taxila, Wah, Kamra, Jhelum and Mangla.

Strict security measures have been taken to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the polling process today. Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) has stated that 12,400 troops of Pakistan Army and Rangers have been employed on security duty for local body elections in 42 cantonments across the country.