ECP to fix Karachi LG polls case for November 9

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) observed on Thursday that the case concerning local bodies elections in Karachi will be fixed for hearing on November 9.

The statement was released after a meeting took place at the commission under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. The meeting was also joined by members of the commission as well as ECP secretary and special secretary.

The attendees were briefed about the Sindh government’s report on holding local body elections in Karachi.

The provincial government has written in its report that the police force was currently insufficient for holding local elections safely, and that it was impossible to bring in police personnel from other districts of Sindh as they have been sent to Islamabad at the request of the Ministry of Interior.

In a written response submitted to the ECP, the provincial government had stated that the police responsibilities have increased due to the ongoing rehabilitation of flood victims, anti-Covid vaccination campaign and an international defence exhibition in Karachi. In this situation, police personnel cannot be summoned from other districts for the LG elections in Karachi, it stated.

Additionally, the report stated that the Director General Export Promotion Organisation has written a letter to the Ministry of Defense that the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS-2022), is to be held between November 15 and 18 at the Karachi Expo Centre, a copy of which has been submitted to the ECP as well.

The director general has informed the Ministry of Defense that it will be difficult for law enforcement agencies to provide security for both the IDEAs event and local elections in Karachi.

In the purview of said reasons, the provincial government argued that ensuring the peaceful administering of local body elections in Karachi was “impossible”.

However, the ECP officials during the meeting also considered the request of Jamaat-e-Islami to hold elections at the earliest and decided that the case of local government elections should be fixed for hearing at the commission on November 9.

The electoral watchdog has also decided to issue notices to the home secretary, chief secretary, and IG Sindh after the hearing.

Furthermore, major parties including Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Peoples Party, and MQM-Pakistan will also be invited to present their position if they so please to give a chance to all stakeholders to voice their concerns on the date of local body elections in all the districts of Karachi.

It may be noted here that the ECP had decided to put off local government elections in Karachi for a third time in October on the Sindh government's request while it had asked the Punjab government to legislate on the local bodies within a week or hold the polls based on the previous laws.

The decision to postpone local body elections in Karachi had been made in a meeting chaired by the CEC.

The huddle had reviewed the interior ministry's letter in which it had expressed its inability to provide security personnel for the local government elections.

The federal government had also asked the electoral body to decide about conducting local government elections in the port city after consulting with the Sindh government.

Meanwhile, earlier today (Thursday) the JI Karachi filed a petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, seeking the implementation of the court's earlier verdict for local government elections in the city.