LG polls: 727 candidates elected unopposed in Karachi, Hyderabad

KARACHI: At least 727 candidates vying for different seats have been elected unopposed in 16 districts of the Karachi, Hyderabad and Thatta divisions in the second phase of the local government polls in Sindh.

Data provided by the ECP shows that a total of 7 candidates from Karachi, 410 from Hyderabad and 310 from Thatta division have been elected unopposed.

A total of 8857 polling stations have been set up by ECP for second phase of LG polls while 17863 candidates will face each other in local government elections scheduled on January 15.

Meanwhile, as many as 49 candidates have passed away before the second phase of local bodies elections in 16 districts of Karachi, Hyderabad and Thatta divisions.

According to the details provided by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), as many as 12 candidates of union council (UC) chairman and vice chairman have died since the time their nomination papers were submitted.

Similarly, 22 candidates who were running for district council, town committee, municipal committee and UC ward members seats also passed away.

The ECP data shows that among the 22 deceased candidates from Karachi Division, half had filed their nomination papers for the posts of chairman and vice chairman

The official statistics show that one chairman and vice-chairman candidate passed away in District South, and four chairman and vice-chairman candidates passed away in the Central and West districts, while five general member candidates passed away in District East.

The long-awaited second phase of local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad are set to be held on January 15 (Sunday) as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP has finalized preparations for the LG polls.