Delayed democracy: LG elections in Sanghar, Badin postponed once again

Nine other districts of lower Sindh will elect local representatives today.

ISLAMABAD/HYDERABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed on Wednesday the local government (LG) elections in two districts, Sanghar and Badin, due to the law and order situation.

The elections were scheduled to be held today. Two days earlier, four people were shot dead in what is presumed to be an act of pre-poll violence. The LG elections were originally scheduled for these parts of lower Sindh on November 19 but were delayed due to tensions between political rivals.

The Islamabad-based joint secretary of the LG elections, Attaur Rehman, told The Express Tribune that the postponement is based on security considerations. The ECP acted on the request of the provincial government in this regard, he added.

According to a notification issued on Wednesday, the ECP received a request from the Sindh government, which cited law and order concerns in Sanghar and Badin districts, to postpone the elections. As a result, the ECP rescinded its December 9 and December 10 notifications pertaining to Sanghar and Badin districts, respectively. The notification mentioned that a new date will be announced once there is a visible improvement in the law and order situation in these areas.

Apart from Tuesday's killings in Sanghar, the first phase of the LG polls (held on October 31 in upper Sindh) saw deadly clashes between Pakistan Muslim League-Functional and Pakistan Peoples Party supporters. Thirteen PML-F supporters were shot dead in Daraza, Khairpur, which led the provincial government to fear backlash during the subsequent phases.

Elections in nine districts today

Meanwhile, LG elections on over 100 seats of the local councils of nine districts will be held today. The LG representatives will be elected on a total of 114 seats in the districts where the polls were held on November 19 as part of the second phase.

The by-elections are unlikely to affect the November 19 results in the 10 districts. These elections are being held on the seats that remained vacant because either the candidates did not file the nomination papers or the returning officers rejected the candidates' papers. There also 14 such seats, mostly of the general members elected from wards, which were vacated due to the death of the winning candidates.

The 114 seats comprise 16 of chairmen and vice-chairmen, 15 of members of the district councils and 61 of the general councillors of wards of the union councils and union committees. Up to 21 ward members of town committees and one ward member of a municipal committee are also included.

The by-polls will take place on 28 seats in Naushero Feroz, 26 in Mirpurkhas, 24 in Tharparkar, 22 in Hyderabad, five each in Dadu and Sujawal, two in Umerkot and one each in Thatta and Tando Allahyar.

The 14 districts of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah divisions, where the second phase of LG elections were held on November 19, consist of 14 district councils, 19 municipal committees, 75 town committees and one municipal corporation.

The polls were held on 13 municipal committees and 62 town committees, out of which, the PPP bagged 10 and 50, respectively, while it will be forming the district councils in 13 of these districts. The polling on remaining five of the 13 town committees is scheduled for today and on the eight others on Dec 30. Similarly, of the remaining six municipal committees, one will elect its representatives today and the other five on Dec 30.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th,  2015.