Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja on Monday warned that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would soon pass an appropriate order regarding the long-delayed local government (LG) elections in Punjab, cautioning that such an order could prove embarrassing for the provincial government.
"We will pass an appropriate order. This process must be completed as soon as possible. The commission cannot sit idle with its eyes closed," the CEC remarked.
He further said the ECP had the authority to summon the chief minister of Punjab, and if local elections were not held in Islamabad, even the prime minister could be summoned.
The remarks came as a five-member bench of the ECP, headed by CEC Raja, resumed hearing a case related to the delay in holding local government elections in Punjab.
During the hearing, ECP Secretary Omar Hamid briefed the commission, saying that both the Punjab government and the federal government in Islamabad appeared disinterested in conducting local government elections.
He said Punjab had already delayed the polls for three years.
"The tenure of local governments in Punjab ended on December 31, 2021," he said, adding that from 2019 to the present, Punjab had amended its local government laws five times, and a sixth amendment was currently underway.
CEC Raja said he had personally appeared before the Supreme Court in the local government elections case and stressed that the elections could not be delayed indefinitely on the pretext of legislative processes.
"It is not acceptable for a provincial government to keep avoiding legislation for five years and not conduct elections," he said.
The provincial minister for local government informed the commission that the bill related to LG elections was currently under consideration in the standing committee and that efforts were being made to finalise the legislation soon.
"It's been over three months since the bill was tabled in the Punjab Assembly. Typically, a bill takes around two months for approval," he said.
The minister also noted that a draft of the local government rules was available and could be shared with the commission.
Once again, the CEC reiterated that all provinces except Punjab had conducted their LG elections, warning that a formal order from the ECP could embarrass the provincial government.
"We will pass a suitable order. This process must be expedited. The commission cannot sit idle," he said.
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