ECP issues K-P LG polls’ revised schedule

Crucial second phase set for March 31 in 18 districts

PESHAWAR:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a fresh schedule for the second phase of local bodies’ elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), with the polls set to be held on March 31.

According to the election organising body, the Returning Officers (ROs) will issue notices regarding the elections on February 10.

It further stated that the nomination papers for the polls will be received from February 14 to 18, while the preliminary list of the candidates will be issued on February 19.

The ECP said that the confirmed list of candidates participating in the polls and the electoral signs will be issued on March 2 and 4, respectively.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court suspended the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision in which it postponed the second phase of the K-P local government election scheduled for March 27.

A two-member division bench of the apex court, comprising of Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, heard the case and issued notices to all involved parties.

On February 4, the Abbottabad bench of the PHC had postponed the next phase of the LG elections, a decision that was welcomed by the Hazara Province Movement, which vowed to field candidates from every district and village council of the Hazara Division, including Battagram, Allai and Torghar.

The high court had directed the electoral body to hold the elections till after Ramazan, keeping in view the harsh weather forecast next month.

The Aabbotabad bench of PHC had released an 11-page judgment. As per the decision local residents of Ogi Haji Muhammad Khan, Malik Aurangzeb of tehsil Palai, Muhammad Iqbal of Palas and Sardar Shafiq of Abbotabad filed a petition with PHC. They made Chief Election Commissioner Pakistan, Chief Secretary K-P and Secretary Coordination Unit Local Government a party in the petition and took the stance that most of the Hazara Division is mountainous where snowfall occurred during winters so it is not possible for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections as scheduled. They said that record snowfall has been experienced in Galyat and other parts so the elections should be postponed due to this situation.

The PHC Abbotabad bench released a written judgment on Friday in this regard. As per the judgment, the elections were postponed till Ramazan and the election schedule had been cancelled in all 18 districts.

The judgment further added that elections are not possible due to the weather conditions as Met Office had issued a forecast of further rains and snowfall in the month of March and elections are scheduled to be held in March.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in a statement had urged ECP to challenge the decision in Supreme Court after the PHC decision. He called it a conspiracy on the part of the K-P government to delay the elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2022.