KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday postponed elections on over 9,500 reserved seats of all the local councils — from union councils to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation — citing that the matter is pending in court.

In a notification issued on Thursday, the ECP said: “In partial modification of this Commission’s notification of even number dated the 15th and 21st January 2016, the Election Commission of Pakistan, because of matter being sub judice, hereby postpones the dates of poll [on indirect elections in Sindh].”

The notification said the polling on indirect seats of district councils, municipal corporations, district municipal corporations and the metropolitan corporation was to be held on Feb 8.

The polling on indirect seats of union councils, union committees, town committees and municipal committees across Sindh was to be held on Feb 14.

The notification, however, gave no specific indication to the case(s) which caused the ECP to postpone the elections.

Sindh election commissioner Tanveer Zaki said with the issuance of the notification, the elections on the reserved seats had been postponed in the province. He said the ECP would itself decide about a new poll date.

In the schedule notified by the ECP last month, candidates were to file their nomination papers on Jan 21 and scrutiny of nomination papers was to take place from Jan 22 to 23. The rest of the required proceedings, including the last date for filing appeals against the acceptance or rejection of appeals and decision of tribunals about appeals; and the last date for withdrawal of candidature were completed by Jan 28.

The whole issue vis-a-vis election on the reserved seats, which was earlier blamed on the Sindh government for allegedly delaying, will have to wait until it is notified again.

The Sindh government had earlier requested the ECP to issue a schedule for indirect elections on the over 9,500 reserved seats in the province after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) accused it of delaying the next phase of local government elections.

The MQM had criticised the Sindh government and the ECP for failing to hold the elections on reserved seats and of mayor, deputy mayor, chairman and vice chairman of municipal corporations and committees over one month after the completion of the three phases of LG elections in the province.

The MQM had held demonstrations and presented its reservations in writing to the provincial election commissioner.

The criticism led the ECP to claim that the Sindh government had not notified the reserved seats in the province and warned that otherwise it would issue an election schedule on its own.

On Jan 14 the oath-taking ceremonies of over 12,000 councillors-elect in Sindh was held.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2016