Governance: ‘LG elections likely to be held by end of this year’

Election commission, govt to seek more time from the Supreme Court.

KARACHI: Though the Supreme Court has given a deadline to the Sindh government to hold the local government elections on September 15, the election commission and the government feel it is a difficult task.

“We have yet to receive the draft copy of the local government act, which is to be submitted by provincial government,” provincial election commissioner SM Tariq Qadri told The Express Tribune. “It is not possible for the election commission to make arrangements within two weeks to hold the local government election. We need at least four to five months.”

Qadri said that they will seek more time from the Supreme Court at the next hearing. The election commission will further consult the provincial government before giving a final date to the apex court, he said.

Meanwhile, Sindh chief secretary Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry said he had no idea when the elections would be held in the province. “I cannot comment on this this,” he said, before advising that the relevant minister or the local government secretary should be contacted on this issue.

The new law has been made in compliance with the Supreme Court orders but it is very difficult to meet the September 15 deadline, said the local government secretary, Ali Ahmed Lund. “The law has turned into the act but the gazette notification of the law is still under process,” he said, adding that the Sindh government has decided to seek more time from the Supreme Court.

The advocate general of Sindh would appear before the court at the next hearing on September 16 and seek more time. “We will try to convince the apex court by giving a briefing on the new law,” said Lund. “I hope the court will give us more time.”

The provincial government wants to make amendments to the new law, said Sindh advocate general Khalid Ahmed Khan. The government will also start the delimitation before holding the local bodies’ elections, he said. “Delimitation of the constituency will take time,” he said. “We will request the Supreme Court to give us the new date either in December this year or the first week of January, 2014.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2013.