ISLAMABAD: The Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has refused to delay further the local bodies elections in three divisions of Sindh — Karachi, Hyderabad, and Thatta — and ruled that the second phase of local government polls will be held as per schedule on Jan 15.

The commission rejected the petition of the Mutt­ah­ida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) wherein the party had urged the election watchdog for the simultaneous “use of two separate electoral rolls in the upcoming elections”.

In the verdict announced by Chief Election Commiss­ioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the ECP said at the time of issuance of the schedule for the conduct of 2nd phase, old electoral rolls were in the field and in accordance with the provisions of Section 39 of the Elections Act 2017. It said these electoral rolls were frozen at that stage.

According to the ECP, at the time of the postponement, only the poll date was changed and no changes were made to the schedule for the elections. Had the schedule been withdrawn by the commission then the elections on new electoral rolls could have been held, the watchdog added.

“There was no change in schedule hence the old electoral rolls will be used for the conduct of the second phase … in line with Section 39 of the Elections Act 2017,” it read. The ECP rejected the “totally incorrect and misconceived argument” advanced by the MQM counsel for the simultaneous use of two electoral rolls.

The order also referred to a Supreme Court judgement passed on March 15, 2021, which stipulated that the matter of “holding local government elections lies within the domain of the commission as per Article 219(d) of the Constitution and a province cannot dictate to the commission, if and/or when the same can be held”.

It said that as per multiple judgements of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission was bound by the Constitution and law to ensure the timely conduct of elections.

The application filed by MQM through its convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has been rejected an application filed by JI – for timely elections— is accepted, it added.

Second phase of LG elections

The second phase will be held on January 15, the ECP order said, asking the Sindh chief secretary, police chief, and relevant officials to “properly assist the election officials for free and fair conduct of LG elections in Sindh”.

In a related development, the ECP requested the Ministry of Interior for the deployment of additional Rangers and army troops outside the polling stations for the LG elections.

“Keeping in view the sensitivity of the areas concerned and in order to prevent any untoward incidents which are apprehended due to the volatile political environment, I am directed in view of the likelihood of prevalent insecurity to request you once again for the static deployment of Pakistan Army/Rangers troops outside highly sensitive polling stations along with the already approved QRF presence, on January 15, 2023,” a letter written by the Director General (LG elections) Sharifullah, a copy of which is available with Dawn, read.

“Furthermore, it may also be ensured that complete security cover may be provided to the polling staff and material for the journey from RO offices to the polling stations, during counting at the polling stations, and for the journey back from the polling stations to the RO offices”, it added.

Background

The term of the local governments in Sindh expired on August 30, 2020, and the commission was under a constitutional and legal obligation to hold elections within 120 days after the expiry of the tenure.

The second phase of the local government elections in Sindh was scheduled to take place on July 24, but it was postponed due to unprecedented rains and flooding in the country, particularly in Sindh. The electoral body rescheduled the LG elections for August 28, but they were put off again for the same reason. On Nov 22, the election watchdog announced that the second phase of the polls would be held on Jan 15.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2023