ECP notifies DROs for LG polls in KP

PESHAWAR: The local government elections will be held in the newly-merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the first time as the Election Commission of Pakistan notified district returning officers (DROs) for the polls across the province.

This will be for the first time that people of the erstwhile Fata will get LG system similar to the settled districts of the province. An official of the Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday said the delimitation of constituencies has been completed in 28 districts of the province. The process is still going on in the divisional headquarters and the provincial capital and will be completed soon.

The ECP notified all the deputy commissioners as district returning officers while the assistant commissioners as well as officers from education and other departments will be returning officers and assistant returning officers. Some reports recently said the government is likely to hold the LG polls in April.

Meanwhile, the ECP has announced that candidates for the Senate polls can submit nomination papers with the returning officers concerned on February 12 and 13, after which the initial list will be displayed on February 14. The final list of candidates will be displayed on February 23.

Half of the senators, 52, would retire by March 6 after completing a six-year tenure and new members will be elected on these seats from all the provinces.