ECP reschedules hearing of Punjab LG polls delay case
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rescheduled till Monday the hearing of a case involving the delay in local government elections in Punjab that was scheduled tomorrow (Thursday).
Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Secretary LG Punjab Shakeel Ahmad Mian have been summoned by the ECP in this case.
Before this case was rescheduled, the ECP officials, in a meeting with a Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) delegation, on Tuesday, had confirmed that the ECP would hear this case on Thursday.
The ECP officials briefed the JI delegation regarding delay in the conduct of LG elections in Punjab and Islamabad, said an official statement issued after this meeting.
But, later in the day, the poll body issued a delisting notice for Punjab LG polls delay case citing unavailability of the bench hearing this case on Thursday.
Presently, the local bodies are in place in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and cantonment boards but LG elections in Punjab and federal capital have been facing an inordinate delay since 2021.
The local bodies' term in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) expired on 14 February 2021 and in Punjab on 31 December 2021.
The ECP is bound to hold LG elections within 120 days of the expiry of local bodies' term, under Section 219(4) of the Elections Act 2017.
This law provides that the ECP shall hold elections to the local governments within 120 days of the expiry of the term of local governments of a province, cantonment or ICT.
Article 218(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan provides that it shall be the ECP's duty to organise and conduct the elections, and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that an election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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