CEC says ‘provinces unwilling to conduct elections’

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) said that provinces are unwilling to conduct general elections, ARY News reported.

The ECP issued an official statement issued after a separate consultative meeting with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan(TLP) and Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q).

The TLP spokesperson told ECP that the government increased the number of UCs from 50 to 125 in Islamabad LG polls as they did not want to hold the LG polls in Islamabad.

TLP also demanded ECP to hold elections within 90 days and If the completion of the delimitation process is not possible in 90 days then the commission should increase the number of staff.

CEC remarked that the ECP is bound to hold LG polls on provincial LG laws. He said that the ECP will monitor the funding and expenses of the election campaigns.

The PML-Q consultative committee supported the ECP’s decision to hold general elections on the census 2023. The ECP said that the election schedule will be announced soon after the completion of delimitation process and upcoming elections will be held according to the constitution.

It is pertinent to mention here that the ECP decided to hold general elections in the second week of February 2024. Sources privy to the development told ARY News that the election commission is likely to issue general elections schedule after December 2023. “The election schedule will be issued 54 days after the completion of the delimitation process,” said sources with ECP.