ISLAMABAD: As the Centre and Punjab continue to drag their feet on local government polls, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Monday warned that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister can be summoned in case the long overdue elections were not held.
Heading a five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which started hearing of the case related to the delay in the conduct of local bodies elections in Islamabad and Punjab, he called for early completion of the local government laws in Islamabad and Punjab.
Mr Raja said it would be embarrassing for the government if the ECP issues an order. He declared that the ECP will issue an order at the next hearing for local government elections in Punjab.
He said the Commission cannot sit with its eyes closed as it wanted to see progress. The ECP will set the timeline itself without waiting for any input from Punjab, he said.
Calls for early completion of local govt laws
in Islamabad, Punjab
He recalled that he personally appeared before the Supreme Court in the case and underscored that it was unacceptable for a provincial government to avoid passing necessary legislation and delay elections for five years. He also highlighted that the elections in rest of the three provinces and cantonments had already taken place.
The remarks came after Punjab’s Minister for Local Government informed the Commission that a draft of the election rules was ready and can be submitted. He also stated that the local government election legislation was currently under review by the standing committee, with efforts being made to speed up the process.
He said the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly has also been urged to accelerate the legislative process. The ECP secretary, Omar Hamid Khan, briefed the forum about the delays in holding electoral processes and contended that the Punjab and the federal government had shown a little interest in holding local government elections. He pointed out that Punjab has delayed the elections for over three years, as the term of local governments in the province ended on December 31, 2021. Moreover, he added, since 2019, local government laws have been amended five times in Punjab, and the law is now being changed for the sixth time in the province.
At one point, one of the ECP members wondered as to who should be called to give a commitment that the election will be held. The hearing was later adjourned without setting a new date.
Under Section 219 (4) of the Elections Act, the ECP is bound to hold elections to local governments within 120 days of the expiry of the term of the local governments of a province, cantonment and Islamabad Capital Territory. In April 2019, the then PTI-led Punjab government dissolved the local government institutions, which were later restored by the Supreme Court and subsequently completed their term on Dec 31, 2021. That means the elections were supposed to be held by the end of April 2022. Likewise, tenure of Islamabad’s local bodies expired on February 14, 2021, and the law required elections by mid of June 2021.
