Late night cabinet huddle stokes polls postponement rumours

Urgently called meeting was adjourned till 11am on Friday without any decision

KARACHI:

Late night huddle of Sindh cabinet fuelled rumours of postponement of local government elections again.

Uncertainty looms over the holding of the local government elections to be held in 16 districts of Karachi and Hyderabad on January 15. Political parties and candidates are hesitant to open wallets for spending on election campaigns.

With only few hours left for the election campaign to end, rumors of postponement were rife as Sindh cabinet had a late night huddle.

The urgently called Sindh cabinet meeting was adjourned till 11am on Friday without any decision. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari flew in from Islamabad to participate in the meeting at the Chief Minister's House.

According to the spokesperson of Chief Minister House, the law and order situation and the supply and demand of wheat and flour were considered in the cabinet meeting.

However, sources say that matter of security for the LG polls was hotly discussed in the meeting. Worth hundreds of polling stations declared highly sensitive and political situation nothing less than a powder keg in Karachi, there was a need for 62,000 policemen to control the law and order on election day.

Moreover, the Sindh cabinet discussed the message sent by MQM leadership to the PDM allies that they will not accept the local body elections based on the current constituencies.

The Sindh government discussed the views of the local leaders and workers of the PPP and the demands of the MQM leadership.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2023.