Punjab Govt suggests September for local government polls

• Buzdar government makes suggestion for September in meeting with ECP.
• Punjab had been given 15 days to provide a date for LG elections by the ECP.
• The ECP had earlier said it doubted the Punjab govt's commitment to holding the election while rejecting a proposal to postpone due to the coronavirus pandemic.

ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Government has suggested that local government elections in the province should be held in September in phases, reportsThe News.

The provincial government made the suggestion in a meeting held on Thursday at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in which members of the Election Commission, Punjab law minister, ECP secretary, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments besides the Election Commission’s other officers participated.

Read more: ECP thinks Punjab government not taking local bodies election seriously

The meeting was about holding local government elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in continuation of a previous meeting held on January 6.

In the last meeting, the ECP had directed the Punjab government to let it know about a date for holding local body elections within 15 days.

It had also directed the provincial government to publish the names of village and neighborhood councils by January 10, 2021 and give the details to the ECP.

In the last meeting, the ECP had raised doubts over the 'seriousness' of the Punjab government in holding local government elections.

It had rejected the provincial government's "excuse" of postponing the LG polls because of the coronavirus pandemic.