No provincial govt was agreeing to hold LG Polls: CEC

ISLAMABAD: No provincial government agrees to hold local government elections, Chief Election Commissioner Wednesday said in a ceremony on the National Voters’ Day, ARY News reported.

Addressing a ceremony CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the provincial governments were used to change the laws and were not prepared to hold local councils’ elections. The election commission has taken steps this year to fulfill legal responsibilities.

“The provinces were changing their local government laws repeatedly, which caused delay in elections,” CEC said.

“The first phase of the LG polls in Sindh was held on June 26, while the next phase of elections, in Karachi and Hyderabad, is going to happen on January 15,” he said.

“Electoral process was completed at 32 districts of Balochistan on May 29, while remaining elections will be held on Dec 31,” CEC further said.

Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the ECP has twice completed election work in Punjab but repeated change in laws impede elections. “Whenever we conclude delimitations, the government amend the laws,” he said.

“The local government elections in Punjab will be held in the last week of April,” he announced.

Punjab government made bound to ensure elections in the last week of April, “The elections will be held under the previous law if the Act will be changed again,” he added.

Earlier, Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Umar Hameed Khan stressed that the commission has narrowed down the gender gap among voters and registered 3.6 million women voters.

The ECP with the help of non-government organizations (NGOs) working in Balochistan to narrow down the gender gap, he added.