PPP announces protests across Sindh

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has announced to stage protests across Sindh against the extended local government (LG) poll schedule finalised by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), ARY News reported on Thursday.

PPP announced to stage protests against the ECP across Sindh for fixing the extended schedule of the LG poll. Nisar Khuhro said that PPP will protest at its district headquarters of the ECP against the delaying tactics.

He said that the ECP fixed the duration LG poll schedule up to nearly one month which is unacceptable for the elected representatives.

READ: MAYOR, CHAIRMAN ELECTIONS: PPP TABLES KEY DEMAND FROM ECP

Khuhro demanded the commission to review the schedule and reduce its duration. He added that the elected LG representatives are waiting for an year and further delay will not be accepted anymore.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) directed all independent candidates who emerged as winners in the recent local government (LG) elections in Sindh to join a political party of their choice within seven days.

In a statement, the electoral watchdog said that the independent winners must align themselves with a political party, by May 24, thereby fostering greater collaboration and strengthening the political landscape at the local government level.

According to the Sindh Local Government Act 2015, the ECP requires the winning candidates to formally inform them of their decision to join a political party.

READ: HAFIZ NAEEMUR REHMAN ACCUSES PPP OF RIGGING IN SINDH LG BY-POLLS

Additionally, the leader of the party that the independent candidate chooses to join must also notify the ECP about the candidate’s affiliation. To comply with this requirement, the independent candidate needs to submit an affidavit stating their intention to join a specific party.

This letter, containing the affidavit, must reach the ECP’s office within seven days of the official announcement of the election results.

Under the local government act 2013, each political party shall submit separate priority list of their candidates for each category, with the returning officer on or before May 24, 2023.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was leading with 98 Union Councils (UCs) seats after it grabbed seven seats out of 11 Union Councils in Karachi during local government (LG) by-polls.