ECP issues deadline to Fed, Sindh govts over local bodies elections

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed the federal and Sindh governments to carry out necessary legislation and other acts for the delimitation process ahead of the local bodies elections, ARY NEWS reported.

The ECP while announcing its reserved verdict on local bodies polls in Islamabad directed the federal government to issue a notification for local bodies elections in 10 days.

The government should provide necessary data and documents pertaining to polls immediately and in case of a delayed notification, the ECP said that it would begin the delimitation process on its own.

Moreover, the election body has also directed the Sindh government to finalize legislation and other necessary requirements for the delimitation process within two weeks.

It warned that in case of a delay, the ECP would conduct delimitation as per present laws after December 01. “Soon after the delimitation process, election schedule would be announced,” the body said.

In early 2021, the Sindh government conveyed to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that it could not hold local bodies elections in the province during 2021 owing to its reservations on population census.

According to sources, the local bodies’ polls could not be held in the country this year after the provincial government conveyed to the ECP that it could not hold the elections in 2021.

“We have reservations on population census and therefore could not hold the polls,” the sources in the Sindh government said adding that the government would challenge the CCI decision to accept census figures.

They said that the reservations on holding local bodies elections in the province during the ongoing year were conveyed by the provincial authorities during a previous meeting of the election body.