ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has alleged that government of Balochistan is using delaying tactics in holding local government elections in the province.
A senior official of Election Commission of Pakistan told The Nation that Balochistan government was using delaying tactics and going on back foot to not hold local bodies election. The official, seeking anonymity, said that the ECP wanted to hold local bodies election in Balochistan on 29th May. The schedule for elections had been issued to the province, he said, adding, whole preparation took two years but the provincial government appears not ready to hold elections.
The official said that commission had made efforts in holding local bodies elections in the country as well as the apex court had issued orders regarding local government elections but provincial government is not taking interest. Punjab local government tenure had expired on 31st Dec, 2021 while KP and Balochistan LG polls tenure had ended in 2019 and Islamabad tenure completed on 14th Feb 2021, claimed the official.
It’s noteworthy to mention here, that Supreme Court had ordered several times to hold LG polls without any hindrance and had directed provincial governments to cooperate with ECP for fulfilling its constitutional duty to hold smooth elections.
Local bodies election has been facing consistent problems in the history of the country because the provincial governments do not want to conduct local bodies elections. The official said that ECP had conducted numberless meetings and sent hundreds of letters to the provinces to hold local elections but they do not cooperate with ECP.
The official said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa local bodies elections had been held successfully within two phases which took two years. He added that it was a constitutional obligation of the ECP under Article ‘140 A’ which says “each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the governments’’. KP local polls were to be held in 2019 but the elections of local bodies were held in KP two years later, the official said. ECP is making efforts to hold local bodies elections in Sindh, Punjab Balochistan and federal capital.