Islamabad:
The Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP) ordered the Punjab government to accelerate the legislative process on Wednesday, allowing the commission to begin delimitation and guarantee the timely elections of the local government.
A complete bank of the Electoral Commission, headed by the Chief Electoral Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, issued the instructions during a hearing on the case related to the realization of local government elections in Punjab in the Secretariat of the Electoral Commission.
During the Hearing, the Secretary of the Electoral Commission, while attending the Commission, revealed that the successive provincial governments in Punjab have changed the electoral laws five times to several intervals.
The Electoral Commission made delimitations three times, updated the electoral lists twice and issued schedules for local government elections.
Despite these efforts, the celebration of local government elections in the province has not been possible. The secretary emphasized the challenges faced due to frequent changes in laws and procedures, which underlines the need for stability to guarantee timely elections.
CEC Raja emphasized that according to article 140-A (2) and article 219 (d) of the Constitution, as well as section 219 of the Election Law, the ECP has the constitutional mandate to carry out elections of the local government in the federal and provincial territories.
The main election commissioner regretted that no provincial government is prepared to hold local elections. He pointed out that every time the Electoral Commission completes its preparations, provincial governments amend the laws, forcing the ECP to restart the entire electoral process.
The ECP has successfully celebrated the local government elections in three provinces and cliffs after significant efforts.
