ECP starts preparations for local body elections

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced the start of its preparations for the local body elections across the country, ARY News reported on Thursday.

In this regard, the ECP has issued a schedule for the delimitation of local government jurisdictions.

According to a notification, the Election Commission of Pakistan has constituted committees for the delimitation of local government jurisdictions in Punjab.

In a notification, the ECP directed provincial election commission to complete the delimitation of constituencies in 36 districts of Punjab in four months.

Read More: MQM-P challenges delimitation of constituencies in SHC

The delimitations of constituencies will be completed from July 6 to October 13, reads the notification.

Last week, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Thursday moved a petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) challenging fresh delimitation of constituencies in various cities of Sindh.

MQM-P leaders Kunwar Naveed Jameel, Amir Khan, and Wasim Akhtar jointly filed the petition, alleging that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) carried out fresh delimitation of constituencies in a way to favour its candidates in utter disregard for relevant laws.

They stated that certain urban areas were merged into rural areas and vice versa. The MQM-P leaders, therefore, pleaded with the SHC to declare fresh delimitations void.

Last month, the MQM-P had approached the Election Commission to stop the process of delimitation of local government constituencies in Sindh till the final publication of the results of the sixth population census held in 2017.