ISLAMABAD - In the first phase of countrywide intra-party elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Monday formally announced the results of the election of some 520 office-bearers from 40 union councils of the federal capital.
Some 889 candidates from 40 union councils contested for 520 party positions. During a press conference held here at party’s central secretariat, PTI Secretary Election Commission Raoof Hasan announced that the turnout remained 51 per cent, as a total number of 31,517 voters out of 62,112 registered voters used their right of franchise to elect the party leadership at union council level.
The newly elected members would now vote for the election of party office bearers at district level, however, exact date has not yet been announced by the party for the purpose.
Out of 520, 164 seats are reserved for women. In every union council office-bearers are elected for 9 general and 4 women seats. General seats include President, Senior Vice President, two vice presidents, finance secretary, information secretary and two joint secretaries. Elections were held under the supervision of the Regional Election Committee, Islamabad, which was further assisted by two local district election committees.  One Election Monitor was also appointed at every union council to oversee the election process.
Raoof Hasan said intra-party election process in KPK will start from 9th of December 2012 and will be wrapped up by the 19th of December 2012. After which elections for Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan will be held and the entire process is expected to finish by mid January.
Addressing on the occasion, PTI President Javed Hashmi said the turnout was beyond their expectation as party had estimated 20 per cent turnout keeping in mind the polling history of the federal capital. He criticised the other political parties present on country’s political spectrum for establishing intra-party dictatorship. “Nawaz Sharrif has promised his party leaders and activists of holding of party election but despite passage of two years PML-N remain fail to do so.”