Local govt polls: ECP issues notices to Sindh, Balochistan, federal govts for 11th

ISLAMABAD: The ECP will take up issues relating to the local government elections in Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) on February 11, as legal and administrative hiccups continue to impede the holding of elections.

Sources in the ECP said though the electoral body was geared up for conducting the local government elections [in the provinces and the federal capital], it awaited the provincial governments and the ICT administration to do the needful besides the official publication of the Population Census, 2017.

However, to have a fresh look at the matter and get updates from the provinces on the directions given to them earlier, the commission will meet here on February 11 at 10:00am. To this effect, notices have been issued to the Sindh, Balochistan and federal governments through the Attorney General for Pakistan and secretary inter-provincial coordination to assist the commission.

“All eyes are fixed on the official publication of the Population Census, 2017 and carrying out delimitation of the constituencies is also linked to this development, being awaited since long,” they pointed out.

Referring to the meetings held at the Election Commission Secretariat last week, about which not a single word was released to the media, sources explained that the Sindh chief secretary and Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Law Murtaza Wahab had taken a position that delimitation of constituencies was possible only after publication of the Population Census.

And, when the Election Commission asked the advisor to the chief minister about the possibility of carrying out this exercise on the basis of 1998 census, he maintained that it was not possible owing to substantial demographic changes and increase in population. The government of Balochistan had also presented a similar position and its chief secretary maintained that their stance was akin to that of Sindh that delimitation of constituencies was tied up to the official publication of the Population Census. He had also contended that the provincial government intended to bring about substantial amendments in the Local Government Act, 2010.

On its part, the Election Commission had started the process of fresh delimitation on January 17, 2019 on the basis of provisional results of the census but the process was suspended by the Balochistan High Court on February 12, 2019.

The matter is still pending with the court and the next date of hearing is in April. To this, the Election Commission, they noted, had expressed concern that despite passage of two years, the matter relating to the delimitation was still pending.

The Election Commission also asked the Balochistan government and the Law Wing of the Election Commission to strongly pursue the matter for early disposal of the case, besides asking the chief secretary to complete the process of amendments, if any as early as possible or order initiating the poll process, following the publication of the Population Census. As regards the Federal Capital, the commission was informed that the ministry of interior had written to the chief commissioner Islamabad for provision of requisite information to the ECP local office.

The joint secretary of the ministry of interior had said that the ICT Local Government Act, 2015, did not provide for carrying out delimitation on the basis of provisional results of the Population Census.