ECP thinks Punjab government not taking local bodies election seriously

• ECP says Punjab government seems non-serious in holding LG polls
• NCOC had proposed delay in LG polls because of COVID-19, says Punjab government
• ECP rejects provincial government's "excuse"
  

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has raised doubts over the seriousness of the Punjab government in taking the local government elections.

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

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja chaired a meeting over this at the Election Commission Secretariat Wednesday. It was attended by the ECP secretary, Punjab LG secretary and other officials of the ECP.

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This was a followup meeting to the meeting held on December 30, 2020 in which the Punjab government was directed to inform the CECP about the dates of the LG polls, The News reported.

Punjab local government secretary clarified that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has recommended postponing the local bodies elections in the light of the outbreak of COVID-19.

But the ECP responded that it seemed that the provincial government was not serious in holding the local government elections.

ECP's stance

ECP said it had already issued a schedule for holding by-elections in eight national and provincial assembly constituencies across Pakistan with COVID-19 SOPs in mind.

For this reason, ECP said, the Punjab government's "excuse" of coronavirus will not be accepted.

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ECP told the Punjab government to publish the names of village and neighbourhood councils by January 10, 2021.

The local government secretary assured the ECP that the names will be published by January 10.

In addition, the secretary sought respite regarding the dates of the local bodies elections, and the ECP approved his request, directing that he should inform the commission about the dates of elections under Section 91 of the Punjab Local Government Act 2019 within 15 days.