The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday issued a formal apology to the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) over misinformation in a press release that was issued by the commission after it had postponed the local government elections in Sindh scheduled for July 24 till August 28.
The ECP had stated in the press release that the JI was also among the political parties that had requested postponement of the local government elections. In a letter written to the JI’s counsel, the ECP clarified that the postponement of the local government elections in the Karachi and Hyderabad divisions was not a result of any request made by the JI. “If any official has mentioned [that], [it] is regretted.”
The letter, however, reads that the decision of the postponement of the local government polls was made in good faith. “The doors of ECP are always open for any further discussion on this matter.”
The commission explained that it had issued notifications to conduct the local government polls and the by-election in NA-245 in Karachi, and the JI had only requested to delay the NA-245 by-poll. It added that due to the forecast of rough weather by the Pakistan Meteorological Department on the day of the polls, the by-election in NA-245 were rescheduled for August 21, and the local government elections in the Karachi and Hyderabad divisions were postponed until August 28.
JI for timely elections
In a statement, a spokesperson for the JI said that earlier, the ECP had falsely claimed that the JI was also among those parties that wanted to delay the LG polls in Karachi, and due to this, the JI through its counsel Saifuddin Advocate served a legal notice to the ECP for a lawsuit of Rs500 million in case the commission failed to correct the record and did not tender an apology.
He reiterated the party’s demand for the timely local government elections in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. He also demanded that the ECP take action over what he said blatant violations of the code of conduct by the Pakistan Peoples Party and other parties.
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