Daily Times

A bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday reserved its decision over the local government elections in Sindh after arguments.

Earlier, a three-member bench of the ECP during the hearing pertaining to delay of local government polls in Sindh observed that holding local government elections is the responsibility of the provincial government.

“The Supreme Court has given its verdict with regard to the local bodies polls in 2015, but the provincial government delaying to fulfill its constitutional responsibility,” the ECP panel remarked. “Sindh government had earlier presented its condition of the Census results for local boy elections and after release of the census results it has expressed new reservations,” the bench observed.

“The Federation as well as the provinces are bound to hold local government elections,” the bench further observed. The election commission also instructed the provincial government to provide details of the number of union councils, maps and other data to the commission.

Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister Murtaza Wahab said the provincial government had reservations over the census results published on May 6 after approval by the Council of Common Interests and pointed out that the province could lodge its reservations and an appeal under the constitution had been filed with the federal government.