ISLAMABAD: The Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to hold the first phase of local government elections in Sindh in May.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the ECP on Thursday.

The meeting was infor­med the final list of constituencies for the polls in Sindh would be released on March 24.

The ECP accepted a proposal by the Sindh chief secretary that the elections be held in two phases.

The first phase will be held during the last week of May.

Chief Election Commis­sioner Sikandar Sultan Raja asked the chief secretary to finalise a list of districts to be covered during the first phase so that necessary steps could be taken for preparations of the polls.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had dropped hints last month that LG polls would be conducted in two phases.

“The first phase can be held during the third week of May and the second during the first week of June.” he had said.

The Sindh cabinet approved further amendments to the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill in order to accommodate demands by the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) that the next mayor of Karachi be made a member of the governing bodies of the city’s civic agencies and the chairman of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.

The Jamaat and the PSP had organised sit-ins outside the Sindh Assembly in January and February to press their demands for a powerful city mayor.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2022