The Supreme Court on Monday gave the provincial governments of Punjab and Sindh a month to amend legislation to authorise the poll body to carry out the process of delimitation ahead of the local government (LG) elections.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, was hearing the case related to LG elections in Punjab and Sindh on Monday.
During the hearing, Advocate Akram Sheikh, counsel for the poll body, informed the court that representatives of the two provincial governments had held a meeting with ECP officials earlier this month.
The lawyer said that the administration in Sindh had sought 30 days to complete the delimitation process while authorities in Punjab had asked for 15 days for holding local body elections in the province.
Upon this, the chief justice questioned why authorities in Sindh required 30 days, while Punjab government was willing to complete the same process within 15 days.
Responding to the question raised by the chief justice, Additional Advocate General of Sindh Shafi Chandio claimed that the poll body had sought certain amendments in the Sindh Local Government Act, suggesting that the legislative process would require at least 30 days.
Along similar lines, Punjab’s Additional Advocate General Razaq A Mirza informed the court that provincial authorities will provide the requisite information regarding the determination of union councils to the poll supervisory body within two weeks.
Subsequently, the court directed provincial governments to complete the process by the end of this month and submit a report by January 8.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2014.
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