ECP terms JI sit-in unethical

The Election Commission of Pakistan said on Thursday it was unethical for the Jamaat-e-Islami to hold a sit-in outside the office of the Election Commission in Karachi after having applied for a delay in the holding of the second phase of local government elections in Sindh.

For seeking a delay in holding a by-election in constituency NA-245, Karachi, East, and the second phase of the LG polls, an ECP spokesperson explained, Raja Arif Sultan Minhas, deputy emir/chairman of the Election Cell of the Jamaat-e-Islam, applied to the provincial election commission on June 18, 2022.

“It was only after considering this request, other requests and weather factors that the Election Commission postponed the by-election of NA-245 and Sindh LG polls. The NA-245 by-election will now be held on August 21, while the Sindh LG polls will be held on August 28,” he said.

He emphasised that it was blatantly unethical for the JI to hold a sit-in outside the office of the Sindh election commissioner after applying for a delay in the polls. The ECP spokesperson maintained that an old political party with democratic traditions cannot be expected to stand against the decision on its own after itself seeking a delay in the polls.