SWABI: Activists of political parties are confused over the provincial government`s announcement to hold the local government elections in the province both on party and nonparty basis.

Speaking at the Rabita programme of the Ghandhara Union of Journalist here on Wednesday, they said that while the members of the neighbourhood and village councils would be elected on nonparty basis, the district and tehsil council members would be elected on party basis.

Holding the elections on party and nonparty basis has confused the voters as well as the political workers, the participants said. `This is unique and peculiar local government election,` said an activist.

Jehanzeb Khan, a former district nazim, said that perhaps it was the first time in the country`s history that the local bodles` elections were being held in that manner. He added that he wasn`t able to understand the logic behind the new method of holding the elections.

Mohammad Jamil, a former district naib nazim, demanded that the elections should either be held on party basis or nonparty basis. Masood Jabar, former provincial deputy general secretary of Qaumi Watan Party, said that local bodies` elections should be held on party basis.

However, ruling PTI`s district president, Anwar Haq Dad, defended the decision taken by his party, claiming this was the best way of electing people`s representatives at the grass roots level.

Meanwhile, cracks have surfaced in the Awami National Party at the local level before the local bodies elections, Dawn has learnt.

Sources said that one of the ANP groups is led by Haji Rehmanullah, who has remained party`s district president for 25 years, and the second one by the people who contested the election for district office-bearers a year back.

The anti-Rehmanullah group is led by Jehanzeb Khan, former district nazim Shoaib Khan, Sikandar Irfan, former MPA Aman Khan.

When contacted, leaders belonging to Rehmanullah group told Dawn that those who hatched conspiracies against the party leadership in the past would not be taken along. They claimed to have the support of the provincial leadership.

On the other hand, activists of the other group complained about not being called to meetings of the party at the district level. They said they were not aware of the party policy regarding the upcoming local bodies elections.