ISLAMABAD: The electoral body, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday, issued schedule for first phase of local government elections of village/neighbourhood and tehsil/city councils in 17 out of total 35 districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where LG elections would be held on the coming December 19.
The second phase of LG elections of village/neighbourhood and tehsil/city councils would be held in the remaining 18 districts of the KP on coming January 16, the schedule for which is yet to be announced.
According to the schedule issued by the ECP, public notice inviting nominations for LG elections to be issued on November 1; dates for filing of nominations: November 4-8; publication of names of nominated candidates: November 9; scrutiny of nominations: November 10-12; filing of appeals against acceptance/rejection of nominations: November 13-16 (excluding Sunday); date for deciding of appeals by the appellate tribunals: November 19; publication of revised list of candidates: November 20; last date for withdrawal of candidature and final list of candidates: November 22; allotment of electoral symbols to candidates: November 23; and polling day: December 19.
The 17 districts where LG elections are scheduled on December 19 are: Peshawar, Malakand, Bajaur, Mardan, Swabi, Nowsehra, Kohat, Karak, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Tank, Haripur, Khyber, Mohmand, Charsadda, Hangu, and Laki Marwat.
The remaining 18 districts where LG elections are scheduled on January 16 are: Swat, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Upper Chiral, Lower Chitral, Shangla, Buner, Kurram, Orakzai, Abbottabad, Battagram, Kolai Pallas, Mansehra, Torghar, Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan.
So far, KP is the only province for which the ECP has issued LG elections schedule.
Before the issuance of the LG elections schedule, the electoral body, on Thursday, October 21, issued an order stating that first phase of LG elections in KP in village/neighbourhood and tehsil/city councils would be held on December 19 and the second phase would be held on January 16, next year.
On October 14, in a meeting, the ECP and the KP government agreed to hold first phase of LG elections in the coming December, while the electoral body rejected the KP government's plan to hold second phase of LG elections in May next year.
The provincial government conveyed to the ECP that it intended to hold LG elections of neighbourhood/village councils, in first phase, in the coming December, and second phase in May next year, while LG elections in tehsil/city councils would be decided later.
The ECP rejected this plan, while taking the stance that conduct of LG elections in village/neighbourhood and tehsil/city councils in December would save additional expenditure.
The electoral body asked the provincial government to fulfil preparatory requirements for holding LG elections in village/neighbourhood, as well as, tehsil/city councils in the first phase of LG elections in December.
The commission said it wanted to complete the entire electoral exercise in the KP by March next year. In August, this year, the ECP, in a meeting, rejected the requests of the KP and Balochistan governments to be granted more time in preparation of the LG elections, and directed the two provincial governments to ensure that LG polls were held this year.
The KP Chief Secretary, Dr Kazim Niaz, told the meeting that the KP government wanted that the LG polls be held in the province in March 2022. The commission rejected this proposal and directed the chief secretary KP to take up the matter with the provincial government-to place it before the provincial cabinet in order to ensure holding the LG polls at the earliest.
The then advisor to chief minister Balochistan on Local Government Mir Gohram Bugti briefed the said meeting that provincial cabinet of CM Balochistan decided to upgrade the union councils after the results of population census 2017 were notified by the federal government.
He said the provincial government needed two to three months for upgradation of union councils and to provide maps and related documents to the ECP for delimitation of constituencies for the LG polls.
The ECP, in the August meeting, rejected the then provincial advisor's request and directed him to ensure that all pending work related to LG polls was completed within a month, which has not been done.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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