LG polls in Karachi, Hyderabad to go ahead on Jan 15: ECP

Rejecting the demand of the Sindh government to postpone local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad over security threats, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said polls would be held as per schedule on January 15.

Earlier, the Sindh government had once again asked the ECP to delay elections in the two cities due to security concerns.

In a letter to the ECP, the provincial government said law enforcement and intelligence agencies apprised participants of meeting held at the chief secretary’s office "of the precarious law and order situation along with specific threats to various political leaders and workers of political parties” .

"The Government of Sindh reiterates the request that the second phase of local government elections to the extent of Karachi division & Hyderabad district be postponed till such time that the required security is available at the polling stations,” the letter said.

The letter also said that the Sindh cabinet had expressed concern over non-availability of Pakistan Army and civil armed forces for deployment at polling stations.

After the ECPs order today, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah expressed concern over the “worrying situation” arising from the differences between the political parties over the elections.

He remarked that two political parties were in the favour of holding them tomorrow while two were not, adding: "A few miscreants could benefit from the [current] situation” which could lead to a deterioration in the law and order situation.

He suggested that “political parties and other stakeholders related to the elections needed to “defuse the tension in the atmosphere by showing diplomacy”.

On Thursday, the Sindh government announced that the local government elections scheduled for January 15 will not be held in Karachi, Hyderabad, and Dadu. However, the ECP rejected the Sindh government’s ruling on the basis of legal and constitutional principles. The decision was taken by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan.

Intelligence agencies recommend postponement of Sindh LG polls amid 'security threats'

On Friday, intelligence agencies had urged the ECP to postpone the second phase of local government polls in Sindh amid “severe security threats, saying “strong networks of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) exist in the province."

Background

The second phase of the Sindh LG elections was originally scheduled for July 24 but the ECP moved it to August 28 citing “possible rains and bad weather” in Sindh.

On August 24, the ECP postponed the polls for a second time due to persistent rains and risk of urban flooding and announced that voting would be held on October 23.

On October 18, the ECP delayed the polls once again at the request of the Sindh government, which said that there were difficulties in providing security for the elections as it is facing a shortage of 16,000 police personnel.

On November 16, federal and Sindh governments refused to provide the required assistance to the ECP for holding local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions as the electoral body reserved its verdict in the case related to delay in LG polls in these two divisions comprising 16 districts.

LG elections in Karachi and Hyderabad: Centre, Sindh govt refuse to provide assistance to ECP

Interior Ministry officials conveyed to the ECP that military and paramilitary personnel could not be assigned first-tier election duties in the LG polls due to their extensive engagements in different parts of the country.

The Sindh government cited the engagement of Sindh police in flood relief operations to refuse the provision of the required number of police personnel for security during LG polls in the two divisions.