ECP summons KP, Islamabad officials on July 1 over delay in local govt polls data

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has set July 1 as the deadline for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad authorities to submit pending maps and data needed for local government (LG) elections. The tenure of LGs in KP ended on March 15 this year. According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, local representatives are elected for a four-year term. The term of the last LG in Islamabad expired in February 2021, and since then, elections have been delayed under various pretexts. As a result, around 2.5 million residents of Islamabad continue to face issues ranging from water shortages to unpaved streets. Chairing a key meeting at the ECP Secretariat on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, along with ECP members, the ECP secretary and senior officials, reviewed preparations for LG polls in the federal capital, Punjab and KP. The ECP expressed concern over the KP government’s failure to provide the requisite maps and other data for 15 districts despite repeated requests. Invoking Article 220 of the Constitution, which binds executive authorities to assist the ECP, the Commission ordered notices to be issued to the KP chief secretary and local government secretary. They have been directed to provide all required maps and data before July 1, when the case has been fixed for hearing. The ECP added that notices for personal appearance have also been issued to both officers to explain the delay. The commission was briefed that the case regarding delimitation of town corporations and notification of the number of union councils (UCs) in each town corporation in Islamabad had been sent to the federal cabinet for approval. However, neither the notifications nor the maps have been provided to the ECP so far. Taking note, the commission fixed Islamabad’s case for hearing on July 1 as well, and ordered notices to the Islamabad chief commissioner and deputy commissioner. For Punjab, the ECP directed its office to complete a