KPK divided into 3,170 villages, councils for LG elections

PESHAWAR, Jan 3: The delimitation campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has entered the final stage with the province divided into 3,170 village and neighbourhood councils. Of these local bodies, 2,679 are village councils and 491 neighbourhood councils, officials said, adding preparations for the upcoming local government elections were underway. Village councils have been created in the rural areas and neighbourhood councils in the urban areas. According to the Local Government and Rural Development Department officials, the delimitation drive has entered its final stage after the people approached the relevant divisional appellate authority (DDA) with objections about the delimitation campaign. The objections came from the voters not satisfied with the relevant district delimitation officers’ (DDOs) response to their objections about the preliminary creation of village and neighbourhood councils. The officials said the DDOs had received 1,228 objections and suggestions across the province on the preliminary delimitation of the village and neighbourhood councils created for the first time under the Local Government Act, 2013. They said most people through their objections had demanded increase in the number of village councils. Under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Councils (Delimitation) Rules 2013, the residents of the newly-created village and neighbourhood councils could submit their objections and suggestions to the secretary of the former union councils and DDOs. Officials said minor changes were expected in the preliminary lists of village and neighbourhood councils. The erstwhile union councils have been turned into wards for the purpose of district and tehsil/town elections. Each of the wards has been divided into two to three village and neighbourhood councils. The officials expressed the hope that the delimitation campaign would be completed by the January 15 deadline set by the local government department. They said ground work had already been completed and only paperwork was left so changes to village and neighbourhood councils, if required, would not take much time.]]>