The National Independent Authority for Elections has commenced the review process for candidacy files submitted for the upcoming local elections on November 28. According to the final report, 6,065 lists comprising 162,864 candidates have been filed nationwide for both municipal and provincial assemblies. Specifically, 5,631 lists were submitted for municipal councils and 434 for provincial assemblies. The bulk of these submissions come from political parties, alongside a number of independent lists and coalitions. This verification stage is essential before final validation of the candidates ahead of the vote.