ISLAMABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government appears to have realised that the biometric system in local government elections could delay the exercise at the lowest tier for an indefinite time therefore it settled on introducing the system at a small tehsil of district Haripur.

But that too, a meeting was told, would require 20 weeks for procurement and transportation of machines.

Briefing reporters after a meeting held with Acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Nasirul Mulk in the chair to discuss matters related to the LG polls in the KP, Additional Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Syed Sher Afghan said around 500 to1000 biometric machines were estimated to be required for Ghazi.

He said the ECP was ready to announce the schedule for LG elections in the KP within 10 days to hold polls before June 30, if the idea of even procuring machines for Ghazi was dropped. He said a few more months would be required, if it was to be done.

He said the KP government had been asked to submit a written reply within next two days to explain if they wanted the pilot project at the cost of delay of a few months, or otherwise. He said anomalies in the LG law, rules and delimitation have been removed.

Sources in the ECP say the Commission will issue the schedule for LG polls in the next week if the KP government agrees to withdraw from the demand of pilot project in Ghazi, as well.

Analysts however believe that the delimitation issue could still delay the electoral exercise.

The Supreme Court had recently held that it was the mandate of the ECP to hold free and fair polls, and delimitation was part of it. The court had asked the ECP to carry out delimitation in Punjab and Sindh for LG polls.

The ECP had already approached the apex court seeking more time for delimitation in the two provinces, but is going with the plan to hold LG polls on the basis of delimitation not conducted by it. The analysts are of the view that a similar decision in the case of KP was also possible, if somebody challenges the delimitation in the Supreme Court.