Cantt polls: ECP gives PMO fortnight

ISLAMABAD BUREAU —The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has given the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) another fortnight to submit the federal government's formal written request for local government elections in 42 cantonment boards across the country, warning that it would have no option but to pass appropriate orders if the required document was not received within the stipulated period.

The direction follows months of correspondence, reminders and consultations between the electoral watchdog and the Ministry of Defence as the federal government is yet to complete a procedural requirement despite the ECP having finalised the delimitation of wards in all 42 cantonments.

The polls are already overdue, as the terms of the existing local governments expired on April 11, making August 8 the deadline for holding fresh elections under the law. The latest direction was issued in an order dated November 10 by a five-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The order, available on the commission's website, was passed during proceedings concerning the prolonged delay in holding local government elections in the country's 42 cantonment boards. The commission noted that the terms of the local governments in the cantonment boards had expired on April 11.

Under Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP is required to conduct local government elections within 120 days of the expiry of their terms. Accordingly, the elections were due by August 8.