ISLAMABAD: The ceiling for election expenses of candidates for union councils, union committees, town committees and municipal committees in the coming local government elections in Sindh has been fixed at Rs50,000.
The limit will be Rs100,000 in case of candidates for district councils and district municipal corporations.
Under the updated local government rules provided by the Sindh government to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), it has been made mandatory for candidates to confirm, through a bill stating the particulars and a receipt, any payment made in respect of election expenses except where the amount is less than Rs200.
Every candidate will be required to submit to the returning officer details of election expenses within 30 days after notification of the returned candidate, along with an affidavit.
The nomination papers will not be accepted unless a non-refundable candidature fee in cash or a bank draft in favour of the ECP is paid by or on behalf of the candidate. The candidature fee will be Rs2,000 for union councils, union committees and town committees, Rs3,000 for municipal committees and Rs5,000 for district councils and corporations.
Elections to the reserved seats for women, peasants, labourers and non-Muslims members in a council other than union councils or committees will be elected through proportional representation system of political parties by providing lists of candidates to the district returning officer on the basis of total number of general seats won by each political party in a council.
The total number of seats will include independent returned candidates who join a political party within three days of publication of the returned candidates in the official gazette.
POLL DISPUTES: Under the rules, an election petition can be filed within 60 days of the publication in official gazette, the names of the returned candidate, with a receipt showing deposit of Rs2,000 in a scheduled bank in favour of the ECP.
Internews
