Islamabad:
On Wednesday, the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP) ordered the Punjab government to accelerate the legislative process, allowing the Commission to start the delimitation and ensure local elections in a timely manner.
A complete bench of the electoral commission, led by the commissioner in the elections (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, published the instructions during a hearing on the case linked to the local election procedure in Punjab at the Secretariat of the Electoral Commission.
During the hearing, the secretary of the electoral commission, while helping the commission, revealed that successive provincial governments in Punjab have changed the electoral laws at various intervals five times.
The electoral commission has made three times boundaries, updated the electoral lists twice and has published schedules for local elections.
Despite these efforts, the holding of local elections in the province was not possible. The secretary underlined the challenges encountered due to frequent changes in laws and procedures, highlighting the need for stability to guarantee timely elections.
The CEC Raja stressed that by virtue of article 140-A (2) and article 219 (d) of the Constitution, as well as article 219 of the law on elections, the ECP is constitutionally mandated to lead local elections in the federal and provincial territories.
The chief election commissioner deplored that no provincial government is never ready to organize local elections. He noted that each time the electoral commission ends its preparations, provincial governments modify the laws, forcing the ECP to restart the entire electoral process.
The ECP has successfully organized local elections in three provinces and cantonments after significant efforts.
