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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday rejected the Sindh government’s bid to postpone local government elections in Karachi, Hyderabad and Dadu, asserting that polls will be held on Jan. 15 as already decided.
Late on Thursday, the Sindh government had announced that it was once again seeking a delay for local body polls in Karachi, Hyderabad and Dadu, but was satisfied with polls in Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal and Jamshoro proceeding as planned. Citing delimitation issues—raised by the MQM-P—in Karachi and Hyderabad and flooding in Dadu, the government had said it could also not ensure security at “highly sensitive” polling stations.
In a press release issued after a meeting of ECP members under the chair of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the electoral body said it had reviewed the Sindh government’s request and unanimously rejected it. “The ECP will issue an order in this regard,” it added.
The ECP said it had also decided to approach the Interior Ministry and urged it to ensure the presence of Army and Rangers personnel at highly sensitive polling stations across the province. Earlier this week, the Pakistan Army turned down a request for deployment of troops at polling stations during the local government polls, saying this was the provincial home departments’ domain. However, it had said, quick reaction forces could be provided for 2nd and 3rd tier response.
The military had also noted that “existing commitments of troops with respect to border duties and other internal security deployment across Pakistan” made it difficult to ensure the required deployment of over 20,000 troops of Army/Rangers outside 2,395 most sensitive polling stations.