Proposal for holding LG polls in Sindh, Punjab in Nov, Dec

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the local government (LG) elections in Sindh and Punjab would be conducted in three phases.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Maqbool Baqar, heard the case of local government elections in Sindh and Punjab.
Counsel for the ECP Munir Paracha in pursuance of the court direction given the other day submitted a phase-wise schedule for the LG elections in the two provinces.
He informed the court that in the Phase one, elections in the two provinces would be held on November 14, in the Phase two elections would be held on November 29 and in Phase three elections would be held in the two provinces on December 19, 2015.
The court observed that as it was a serious matter and elections had not been held in the two provinces in the last six years, it would examine the schedule given for holding the elections in the two provinces.
The court adjourned the hearing with remarks that the instant matter would be taken up on Thursday (today) at 9:30am.
The court the other day had directed the advocate generals of the two provinces to coordinate with the ECP in formulating proposals and sought a schedule for holding the LG elections.
Earlier, on July 29, 2015, the ECP had sought a month’s time for holding the local government elections in Punjab and Sindh.
Secretary ECP Babar Yaqoob Fateh Malik had filed an application with the Supreme Court under Order XXXIII SC Rules 1980, praying for an extension of at least 30 days for conducting the LG polls in the Punjab and Sindh. The commission had submitted before the court that due to the recent floods in some districts, the election process cannot be initiated on time till the flood subsides, as most of flood victims, their households and animals were accommodated in government buildings, including schools and colleges.
“Under the law, polling stations cannot be established in private buildings,” the ECP contended.
It told the court that the process of imparting training to returning/presiding officers had been started; however, due to the recent floods, certain districts had been inundated which adversely affected the training programme.