Karachi LG polls: ECP reschedules hearing for 15th

ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the public holiday on November 9, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rescheduled the hearing on Karachi division local government elections case for November 15.

According to ECP spokesperson Haroon Shinwari, the case was delisted and November 15 is fixed as new date for hearing the case. The ECP had held a meeting regarding LG polls in Karachi after the Sindh government requested for further delay in the electoral exercise, citing various reasons, including the pre-occupation of the law-enforcement agencies in post-flood related activities and other events.

Jamaat-e-Islami had written a letter to the electoral body for holding of elections as early as possible. The ECP in its previous meeting also considered the JI letter. The commission had then decided to issue notices to the home secretary, the chief secretary and the IGP Sindh. Moreover, representatives from JI, PTI, PPP and MQM-P were also asked to present their stance so that the date for holding the local bodies elections in all the districts of Karachi could be decided after hearing all the stakeholders.

The ECP was also briefed on the report of the provincial government on holding local bodies elections in Karachi, in which it claimed that the police force was insufficient to conduct the polls and it was not possible to deploy force from other districts of Sindh in Karachi.

It was also pointed out that additional police personnel had been dispatched to Islamabad on the request of the interior ministry. Apart from this, their deployment in the Covid-19 vaccination drive and international defence exhibition /seminar was necessary. Therefore, it was impossible to hold the local bodies elections peacefully in Karachi.

The meeting was informed that the international defense exhibition/seminar being held at the Karachi Expo Centre from November 15-18. For that reason, it will be difficult for the law enforcement agencies to provide security for both the events -defence exhibition and local bodies elections simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has issued a revised election schedule on reserved seats in 32 districts of Balochistan. As per revised schedule, the date for filing nomination papers by the candidates has been extended for three more days. Candidates can now file their nomination papers from November 7-12 and the initial list will be released on November 14.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will be carried out from November 15-17. Appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers by the returning officers can be filed from November 18- 21. The appellate authority will decide related issues by November 24.

The final list of candidates will be released on November 28, whereas polling for the reserved seats will be held on December 14. As for the proposed local government elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory, the process of filing nomination papers had started from November 7, and will continue till November 11. Nomination papers are being submitted to the offices of the respective returning officers. Local body elections in Islamabad will be held on December 31.