QUETTA: The third phase of local bodies elections in Balochistan was completed on Thursday as mayors of municipal corporations, chairmen and deputy chairmen of municipal committees and union councils were elected in 32 out of the 34 districts.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that elections for mayors, chairmen and deputy chairmen were held in all the districts in a peaceful manner and no untoward incident was reported form any area of the province.

After the election, oath-taking ceremonies were also held, the commission said.

The ruling Balochistan Awami Party, Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Pakistan Peoples Party, Balochistan National Party-Mengal and National Party won most of the seats, while a sizeable number of independent candidates also won their seats.

The ECP will announce the final results after completing official counting of votes over the next couple of days. Heavy contingents of security forces were deployed at the polling stations to deal with any untoward incident.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2023