ECP directs Sindh to finalise delimitation work
PHOTO: File
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed the Sindh government to finalise its work pertaining to the delimitation of constituencies and amendment of local government laws before issuing a notification in this regard within a month.
According to the order sheet regarding the local government elections issued by the ECP, the Sindh chief secretary will have to appear in person and explain the reasons for the non-implementation of the court decision if the directions were not complied with.
The order added that if the notification is not issued after timely correction and amendment of relevant data, the case will be fixed for a re-hearing and the provincial chief secretary will have to appear in person at the next hearing.
On the other hand, the ECP also summoned the chief secretary and local government secretary of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on October 14 pertaining to the delimitation of constituencies for local government polls in the province.
On Tuesday, the election commission held a meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja in which members of the ECP and provincial election commissioners participated via a video link.
The meeting held a review of electoral rolls and door-to-door voting. A briefing was given by the provincial election commissioners regarding the campaign on verification of voters.
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The CEC directed the provincial election commissioners to personally supervise the work of reviewing the electoral rolls.
Raja also took feedback from the provincial election commissioners regarding the progress on electoral rolls. He also directed them to contact the statistics department and district administration in case of ambiguity within the limits of the statistical block code.
The provincial election commissioners also briefed the CEC on the appointment of assistant registration officers and other staff.
Panel to hold in-camera session on ECP posts
An in-camera meeting of the parliamentary committee is slated to meet on Thursday to decide on the appointments of new provincial members in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The meeting, chaired by Shirin Mazari, will deliberate on the appointments of members from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) after the posts fell vacant following the retirement of two members on July 26.
Key members from the government will be present during the meeting, including Federal Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Railways and Senator Naseebullah Khan Baazi.
As for the opposition’s side, PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, PPP central Punjab president Raja Pervez Ashraf and Senator Dr Sikandar Mendhro will participate.
Under the Constitution, the ECP comprises chief election commissioner and four members — one from each province. As per the law, the members are to be appointed within 45 days of their retirement.