LAHORE, Nov 7: An Election Commission of Pakistan letter asking Punjab to reconcile electoral rolls with the just-concluded delimitation in only 48 hours, shook the provincial government as it apprehended that the task was a quagmire that might drown it politically.

Sources said a similar letter was sent to the Sindh government as well.

They said Punjab was going to object to the direction as making or reconciling electoral rolls was the basic responsibility of the ECP under Section 21 (2) of the Punjab Local Government Act 2013.

“Electoral rolls and the delimitations have many shortcomings and are bound to invite public resentment. Punjab is ruled by a political party which will also contest the local elections. And any complaint or shortcoming in the electoral rolls reconciled by the PML-N government will invite criticism from opponent parties and politically drown it,” a senior official said.

It is learnt that the ECP was also suggesting appointment of the DCOs as district returning officers (DROs) which the provincial government is avoiding to stay clear of the accusations of controlling the local elections through its administrative machinery.

Inquiries into why reconciling the electoral rolls is being considered problematic reveal that the delimitation of union councils and wards has been done by all the provinces on the basis of 1998 census, whereas the electoral rolls which are likely to be used for the local election were made in 2011.

The fresh electoral rolls were based on 2011 census which was aborted following censure by political parties, the media and the public. But the rolls were prepared in view of a Supreme Court of Pakistan direction made in response to a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan declaring the previous electoral rolls bogus.

Since the 2011 census was aborted, the provinces had to rely on the 1998 census which was the only notified census in the country. It was also used because there was no official growth rate data available in the country for the provinces to project population.

“Using electoral rolls of 2011 and delimiting constituencies on the basis of 1998 census has created dichotomy which is bound to create confusion. There is every chance that voters would not be able to find their designated polling stations if the election is held on the basis of these different schemes,” a senior official said.

According to him, the blocks (geological coordinators) of the 1998 census and the 2011 aborted census were different and using both these schemes would lead to overlapping of the constituencies.

The problem was that the electoral rolls made in 2002 on the basis of 1998 census were declared void by the Supreme Court and, therefore, could not be used now. And the rolls made in 2011 were based on the census which was aborted, he said.

“There are ample chances that the polling station of a voter from Dharampura will be situated in Mughalpura which he will not be able to find. And if he locates it, there will not be much time left for casting his or her vote. This will invite objections and allegations of rigging for which no-one is ready,” an official said.

He said one solution could be preparation of fresh electoral rolls but there was no time left for it.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government on Thursday notified the Punjab Local Government Election Rules which have been borrowed from the People’s Representative Act, elaborating mechanism for the local polls.