PHC orders to hold second phase of LG elections in KP after Ramazan

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has suspended a notification for holding the second phase of local government elections in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and directed the authorities to hold it after the holy month of Ramazan, ARY NEWS reported.

The Abbottabad bench of the PHC in its 11-page verdict written by Justice Shakil Ahmed directed to cancel local government elections in the province in March 2022 citing that snowfall in mountainous areas will make it difficult to hold the polls.

The written order further cited letters written from the Met Office and the provincial government to the ECP in this regard, however, it said that apparently, the ECP failed to fulfil its responsibilities.

The PHC in its verdict said that the second phase of elections are to be held mostly in mountainous areas and applicants were of the view that it would be difficult for voters to turn out in large numbers in the harsh winter conditions.

“The ECP should therefore hold local bodies elections after Ramazan,” it said in an order issued on a plea filed by elders from Kohistan, and Naran areas.

Meanwhile, the ECP has directed returning officers against issuing schedules for the elections and taking any other steps in this regard after a decision from the PHC.