ECP gives KP govt three weeks for legislation on local body elections

The ECP’s special secretary informed the commission that the delimitation process in seven districts of the province had been stalled. He said the KP government wanted to hold local government elections across the province simultaneously, while the chief secretary had sought three weeks at the previous hearing to complete the required legislation.

Officials meeting of the provincial cabinet committee was held on August 31, during which the provincial government directed that local government systems in other provinces be reviewed. The KP chief secretary informed the commission that the provincial cabinet committee was considering amendments to the relevant law.

The ECP Member from Balochistan remarked that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was using delaying tactics and warned that the commission might have to summon the chief minister if the matter continued to be delayed. ECP Member Sindh Nisar Durrani said local government elections would have to be held and added that the commission had several constitutional options available.

The ECP member from KP, however, pointed out that all delimitations would have to be carried out again after changes were made to the law. The special secretary said that if the provincial government made a decision, the ECP could conduct local government elections across the province simultaneously.

The commission subsequently granted the KP government another three weeks to complete the legislation and adjourned further proceedings in the local government elections case until September 29.

The ECP had previously said it was ready to hold local government elections in 23 KP districts where delimitation had been completed, but amendments to the provincial local government law had created difficulties in proceeding with the electoral process.