Number of Pakistani origin female candidates in UK polls reaches record 23

A record 23 female candidates of Pakistani origin will be participating in the upcoming general elections in UK, which will be held on December 12. The UK is set to break its record as more than 1,000 female candidates will take part in the elections. Total number of candidates vying for seats in the House of Commons is more than 3,300, 34% of which are female candidates.

Nine female candidates of Pakistani origin are vying for a parliamentary seat on a Labour Party ticket. Three out of the nine – Shabana Mahmood, Yasmin Queeshi and Naz Shah – were members of the last two Parliaments. Five women of Pakistani origin are vying for a parliamentary seat on a Conservative Party ticket. However, only one of them, Nusrat Ghani, has been elected twice. She also served as minister of transport in the last two cabinets.

Six female candidates of Pakistani origin are contesting the polls on a Liberal Democrat ticket and none of them have been elected before. No female candidates of Pakistani origin will be representing SNP, Brexit or Plaid Cymru parties in the elections. Two Pakistani origin female candidates – Irum Altaf Kiyani and Humera Kamran – are also contesting as independent candidates in the upcoming polls.

Source: The News