L-B elections issue to be placed before cabinet

Provincial govt. previously proposed delay due to Afghan conflict, Delta spread

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has decided to take the local bodies elections’ issue to the provincial cabinet as per the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Spokesperson of the K-P government, Kamran Bangash told The Express Tribune that holding local bodies elections is not possible due to Covid-19 situation and cold weather towards the end of the year but the matter will be put up before the provincial cabinet for discussion and approval.

It may be recalled the provincial government had proposed a delay in the local bodies elections due to civil war in neighbouring Afghanistan and the spread of Delta variant in the province. It also proposed that the elections should be held next year in phases. This proposal, however, was rejected by the Election Commission of Pakistan and it directed the K-P government to put up the matter before the provincial cabinet for discussion and approval.

Read: ECP turns down proposal for K-P local body elections next year

“We are taking this issue to the cabinet. Elections in September this year will not be possible due to the pandemic and cold weather in the province. Now the decision will be taken by the cabinet and the Election Commission will be informed about the cabinet decision,” he said.

Earlier the ECP had turned down the proposal for holding local body elections in K-P next year. The commission had rejected the K-P government’s proposal for holding local body elections in March 2022. The ECP secretary had said that the necessary amendments in the relevant laws have not been implemented which are essential for holding the elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2021.