SC wants ECP to explain delay in Sindh, Punjab LG polls

Apex court says ECP's reasons for suggesting a delay in polls was unjustified, seeks concrete empirical data

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over fresh timelines proposed by Election Commission to conduct local government elections in Punjab and Sindh in three phases.

The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice-designate Jawwad S Khawaja was reviewing the proposed election schedule by the EC on Wednesday. The poll body had suggested holding elections on November 14, 29 and December 19 in three stages instead of the court mandated date of September 26.

Read: SC seeks reasons for LG polls delay in Punjab, Sindh

The ECP had previously cited five reasons for the delay and conducting the polls in three phases, including floods, shortage of resources and manpower, law and order situation, Hajj and Muharram considerations in September and October and lastly - lessons learnt from difficulties in staging local government polls in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

However, the bench observed, “Unfortunately, we are not able to see any empirical justification, rather a general and non-specific basis have been mentioned - that too in the shape of media reports and predictions of rains – which is not satisfactory."

Read: ECP presents phase wise schedule for LG polls in Sindh, Punjab

The bench regretted that while the Punjab and Sindh governments had been assuring the court about holding polls on time at over 15 hearings, the poll body was now suggesting a delay.

The apex court then postponed proceedings until August 18.