ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) set the hearing date for November 9 in order to hear arguments from all parties involved before deciding when to hold local government elections in Karachi Division.
The letter from Jamaat-e-Islami requesting early elections was also taken into consideration by the Election Commission. The forum made the decision to send notices to the home secretary, chief secretary, and IGP Sindh for hearings. Additionally, representatives from the JI, PTI, PPP, and MQM-P will be invited to share their perspectives so that the date for the local body elections in all of Karachi’s districts can be chosen after hearing from all the interested parties.
The members of the Election Commission, as well as its secretary and special secretary, were present at the meeting, which was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.
The provincial government’s report on holding elections for local bodies in Karachi was presented to the ECP. According to the report, the police force is insufficient to conduct the elections and it is not able to call in reinforcements from other Sindh districts. It was also mentioned that more police officers had been sent to Islamabad at the Interior Ministry’s request. In addition, it was required for them to be deployed for the Covid-19 immunisation programme and an international defence show. As a result, it was difficult for Karachi to organise peaceful local body elections.
The meeting was informed that the international defence exhibition/seminar would be hosted at the Karachi Expo Centre from November 15–18 in a letter from the director general of the Export Promotion Organization to the Ministry of Defense. The Pakistani Election Commission also received a copy of the letter.
The director general has warned the Ministry of Defense that it will be challenging for law enforcement to concurrently maintain security for both the defence exhibition/seminar and local body elections in Karachi. Therefore, when choosing the election date, the Election Commission should also consider the circumstances.
The EC secretary gave a report on the commission’s development with regard to the EVM/international voting during the meeting on Thursday. Regarding the actions performed thus far by the Project Management Unit (PMU), the election commissioner expressed satisfaction. In order to forward the project, he gave the office instructions to ensure transparency and write to the federal government and the ministry of finance to request funding.
The PMU unit, which is working on the project/system and keeps the commission informed about its proposals and progress, may be recalled as having been established by the Election Commission last year. The head of the PMU also provided the Election Commission with information regarding the EMS’s budgetary proposal, including testing, training, and piloting.
These steps were deemed significant by the chief election commissioner, who also stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity, secrecy, and sanctity of the voting process. He emphasised, “It is also the duty of the Election Commission to consider the comfort and confidence of all stakeholders.”
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