ECP announces new LG polls schedule for Sindh, Punjab

  • November 19, 2013, 8:23 pm
  • National News
  • 134 Views

ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (Online): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced Tuesday that local government (LG) elections in the province of Sindh would be held on Jan 18 and on Jan 30 in Punjab.

Earlier, the ECP had cancelled its schedule for LG polls in Punjab and Sindh and convened a meeting Tuesday to prepare a plan for holding the polls in January.

According to the earlier schedule which now stands cancelled, polls in Sindh and Punjab were to be held on Nov 27 and Dec 7.

The decision to cancel the schedule was taken after the Supreme Court accepted the commission’s plea for postponement of the polls on account of lack of preparation by the provinces and other problems faced.

During Tuesday’s meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani, the commission presented its new proposed schedule for LG polls to be held in Sindh and Punjab.

Acting Election Commissioner Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani has said local bodies’ elections in Sindh will be held on 18th January‚ in Punjab on 30th January while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa‚ Cantonment boards and Islamabad in February.

Acting Election Commissioner called upon the departments concerned to extend full cooperation to the Commission for holding of transparent local bodies’ polls..

He said that it is the democratic right of people to have access to the local government.

Federal Secretaries of different ministries‚ chief secretaries of four provinces‚ Chairman NADRA and Managing Director Printing Corporation of Pakistan attended the meeting.

Under the new schedule issued by the commission, nomination papers would be received on Dec 10 and 13.

The elections would be notified on Nov 19. Objections to the nomination papers would be received by Dec 14, whereas scrutiny of the nomination papers would take place from Dec 15 to 19.

Appeals against decisions of the Returning Officers (ROs) would be filed on Dec 20 and 21 and these would be disposed off from Dec 22 to 25.

The final list of candidates would be published on Dec 26.