Election Commission Reserves Verdict on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Elections; KP Law Advisor Expresses Inability to Conduct Polls in 12 Districts Due to Security Concerns
ISLAMABAD: In the much-awaited local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), an important development has emerged from the case as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reserved its verdict on the matter.
While the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa law advisor told the court that the province was not in a position to hold local body elections in 12 districts amidst the current law and order issues and emergency.
Some of the highlights from the ECP Hearing on KP Local Government Elections:
The hearing was held by a five-member bench of the ECP headed by the Chief Election Commissioner. In the course of arguments, the special secretary of the ECP told the bench that the KP government had been instructed to finalise the essential legislation by September 19 but it had still not been completed.
Petitioner’s Stance and Demand: Counsel Zafar Iqbal told the court that elections may be called in the districts where delimitation has already been done and the ECP should release the election schedule for the remaining 16 districts.
The Chief Election Commissioner stated that the KP Assembly had raised the population limit for the constituencies in the past, and wondered whether to lower the limits or modify the boundaries of the union councils. After hearing the arguments from both sides in detail, the ECP reserved its final verdict.