The Sindh government has again asked the ECP to defer local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad, citing a Supreme Court order.
In a letter, the provincial government’s Local Government Department said work is pending on implementing the law and spirit of the Supreme Court’s verdict on Article 140-A of the Constitution, amending the local government statute, and rectifying municipal election seats.
The MQM-Pakistan also wrote a letter requesting constituency corrections, and a court appeal was filed.
The administration agreed with the Sindh advocate general that constituency boundaries may be modified.
The MQM-P has challenged the constituency boundaries in court. The party is also unhappy with Hyderabad’s delimitation. It also said the local government statute should be modified as soon as possible to implement the Supreme Court’s Article 140-A ruling.
According to the apex court, legislation must be passed to empower local government institutions in the province.
Waiting
Karachi and Hyderabad local elections were on January 15. However, floods and heavy rains in the province often postponed the elections.
The ECP planned Sindh’s local elections in two phases.
In the June 25 first phase, the ruling PPP led in 14 districts.
Larkana, Kambar-Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Naushehro Feroze, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, and Tharparkar voted.
On July 24, elections were set for the rest of Sindh, including Karachi.
Heavy rain and flooding delayed the polls. The Sindh government cites a lack of security personnel and floods as grounds for postponing elections.
In November, the Sindh High Court (SHC) censured the ECP for delaying the local bodies elections in Karachi and ordered it to set a date.
In the same month, the ECP announced that Karachi and Hyderabad will hold local elections on January 15, 2023.
