PESHAWAR: As many as 651 candidates vying for the seats of mayor of city and chairman of tehsil councils in second phase of lg polls in 18 districts.
More than 2,000 candidates have withdrawn their nomination papers leaving 29,338 in the run for the upcoming second phase of local government elections to be held in 18 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on March 31.
According to the data of the Election Commission of Pakistan released on Monday, 2,186 candidates have taken their nomination papers back from the relevant returning officers.
A total of 851 candidates had filed nomination papers for contesting elections for the seat of mayor and chairman of city and tehsil councils and 200 of them withdrew those papers.
Similarly, 14,743 candidates had filed nomination papers to contest elections for the seat of general councillors in the village and neighbourhood councils and 1,412 of them withdrew papers.
A total of 3,297 women had filed nominations for the VCNC councillor seats reserved for them and 96 women took papers back.
For the seats of peasants and workers at VCNC level, 6,884 candidates had filed nomination papers and 282 of them withdrew candidature. Also, 190 of 5,636 candidates for youth seats withdrew nominations.
Out of 113 candidates for minority seats, six took their nomination papers back.
The electoral exercise will take place in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar, Upper and Lower Kohistan, Kolai-Palas, Swat, Malakand, Shangla, Lower and Upper Dir, Upper and Lower Chitral, Kurram, Orakzai, and North and South Waziristan districts.