ECP fixes six Karachi UC cases for hearing on 23rd

ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of Jamaat-e-Islami’s petition on alleged irregularities in six union councils (UCs) in Karachi, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday fixed Jan 23 for hearing of all these cases.

Accordingly, notices have been issued to provincial election commissioner Sindh, district returning officers concerned, returning officers (ROs), winners and runners-up in the UCs, namely West Orangi UC3, West District Orangi UC7, West District Orangi UC8, West Side Mominabad UC3, West Side Manghopir UC12 and East Side Gulshan UC1.

Meanwhile, the ECP has restored the membership of 36 more legislators and allowed them to function as members of the Senate, National Assembly and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on filing of their mandatory statements of assets and liabilities with the commission. They include eight senators, 25 MNAs and three KP MPAs.

The Election Act, 2017 provides that every member of an assembly and Senate would submit to the ECP on or before December 31 each year, a copy of his statement of assets and liabilities, including assets and liabilities of his spouse and dependent children, as on June 30 on Form B. In the run-up to the issuance of election schedules for the by-elections against the 35 NA seats, which fell vacant following the acceptance of resignations of 34 PTI legislators and one belonging to the Awami Muslim League (AML) a day earlier, and dissolution of the assemblies of Punjab and KP, the electoral body urged people to ensure their registration in the electoral rolls. “The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) informs the general public and interested candidates to participate in the upcoming poll processes, under Section 39 of the Elections Act, 2017, the electoral rolls will be frozen as soon as the election schedule is released. “After which the process of registration, transfer and correction of votes will be stopped till the election is held. The general public and voters are advised to register, transfer, delete and correct the votes in the electoral rolls before the release of the schedule for by-elections to vacant seats of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and National Assembly,” an ECP statement said here.