Bibi Ruqaiya, a female candidate from Balochistan Awami Party, has defeated tribal leader Malik Abrar in Pishin in Local Body Elections. Malik Abrar was the candidate from JUI-F. Reports say Bibi Ruqaiya defeated Malik Abrar after a close and tough contest.
The win of Bibi Ruqaiya is being termed as an important milestone for women’s empowerment in the province due to the low participation of women in regional politics. Netizens believe Bibi Ruqaiya defeating a tribal leader is expected to challenge the status quo and encourage the local people to join politics.
In the related news, independents have dominated the local body elections 2022 in Balochistan. Elections were held in 32 out of 34 districts in Balochistan.
Woman beating a Mullah in Balochistan ❤️ best tweet on my timeline 🎉👏🏽🇵🇰✊🏽 https://t.co/BeRZAThfbT
— Farhad Jarral (@FarhadJarralPK) May 30, 2022
The power of one vote. Congratulations to her! 👏🏻 https://t.co/ahbpkmiFna
— آدرش حمزہ ملغانی (@Malghaniii) May 30, 2022
The elections were marred by violence. One person was fatally shot in an exchange of fire between rival groups at Union Council in the Chagi district. The person shot later died in hospital.
According to the initial poll results, independent candidates have won 1058 seats; Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam has won 98 seats, the ruling Balochistan Awami Party won 71 seats, the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party won 39 seats, the National Party won 26 seats, Balochistan National Party-Mengal got 18 seats, Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf won 10 seats and Muslim League Nawaz won 6 seats.
Read more: Local government elections- a democratic tragedy in Pakistan
The elections were not held in Quetta and Lasbela due to issues regarding delimitation and the formation of wards.
In Gwadar, the leader of the Gwadar Rights Movement leader Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman won 27 out of 42 seats. His win has surprised BNP-M, NP, and JUI-F.
Over 17,000 contestants had contested elections for 4,456 seats of councilors. A total of 1,584 councilors were elected unopposed. The details of the winners have not yet been revealed as it takes two to three days to compile the complete list.
The local body elections were held in Balochistan after 10 years. 132 women had participated in the direct election process.