ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan advised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday to approach the Supreme Court if it wanted to get local government elections delayed in the province.

Sources told Dawn that the KP chief secretary had informed the commission that it was not possible to hold the polls in February.

He said at a meeting presided over by acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Nasirul Mulk that the delimitation exercise was likely to be completed by the end of the current month and LG elections could be held by the end of March.

An official said the Printing Corporation of Pakistan had sought three to four weeks for printing about nine million ballot papers for KP. He also said that the KP government’s insistence to use biometric system for verification of voters could delay the polls for an indefinite period.

He said that 50,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs), each costing about Rs30,000, would be required. Most of the technical problems identified in EVMs during a recent pilot project in Peshawar had been resolved. The machine would require less than 30 seconds for verifying a voter.

The director general cantonments informed the meeting that the defence secretary had gone abroad and the LG law for cantonments was still pending before a parliamentary committee.

The matter was deferred after the meeting was informed that the case was fixed before the Supreme Court for Thursday.

Representatives of the federal government asserted that they were not bound to hold LG elections in February because the Supreme Court’s order had made no mention of the Federal Capital Territory.

They said a draft law had been introduced in the National Assembly and after its passage by parliament delimitation would be carried out. The exercise will require 75 days.