The members and administration of the Model Town Society (MTS) have launched their campaigns for the upcoming MTS elections, which are expected to be political once again.
In the previous elections, the contestant panels had even named the political party they belonged to. However, the residents of the society have strongly condemned the act of politicising the MTS elections. A member of the society, Shoaib Ali, said that the political parties were openly contesting the elections although the MTS constitution did not allow them to do so.
Public interest: Model Town Residents Association (MTRA) President Amir Azam said the politicising of the society’s affairs was against the public interest, as the winners only focused on obliging their party and kept serving them instead of focusing on the society’s issues. He added that the residents were also to be blamed as they followed the instructions of the political parties instead of taking a principle stand on the issue.
Independent panel: MTS president Colonel (r) Tahir Kardar said that it was an unfortunate fact that the MTS elections were political almost every time, adding that it was likely to be the same this year. He said that he might establish his own independent panel and try to win the presidency once again on the basis of the development work he had arranged for the society during the past three years, instead of obliging the instructions of a political party.
Representatives of all major political parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) are allegedly promoting the agendas of their parties. According to sources, the PML-N has instructed it’s workers to fully participate in the elections as the MTS was considered a stronghold of the party because many party leaders are currently residents of the society.
The elections for the MTS take place once every three years. The elections are expected to take place in December this year, and the political parties were seen to be actively campaigning for their representatives. According to Kardar, there are more than 3,800 MTS members who would be voting in the upcoming elections, while two members of each block were given seats in the governing body along with a president, vice president and a general secretary.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\101\story_1-10-2008_pg13_4
