Pakistani poll panel sets deadline for local govt polls in Sindh

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 16 : Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a final deadline of two weeks to the country's Sindh government to provide prerequisites for holding local government elections in the province, local media reported.
"Alternatively, the Commission shall initiate the delimitation process in the province with effect from December 1, 2021 under the applicable local government law i.e. the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013 and Rules framed there under," Dawn citing an order reported.
The local governments in Sindh had expired on August 30 last year and that the commission was under constitutional and legal obligation to hold the local bodies polls within 120 days of the expiry of the tenure.
"This Commission prior to and after the expiry of the term of the local governments has been insisting the provincial government to provide maps and requisite data for delimitation," the newspaper said citing order.
Earlier, the ECP had revealed findings of an inquiry report on irregularities in the Daska by-election.
A report released on the February by-poll in Daska's NA-75 constituency concluded that election officials, police and the local administration failed to play their "designated role in the requisite manner and were found puppets in the hands of their unlawful masters" during the by-election, according to Dawn.
It also found that police officers and officials played an "absurd" role in the by-election under the Imran Khan-led government.