ISLAMABAD: The Ele­ction Commission of Pak­istan (ECP) on Tuesday decided to hold local government (LG) elections in Balochistan, except Quetta and Lasbela districts, on May 29.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Election Com­missi­oner Sikandar Sultan Raja and attended by two members and senior officials of the ECP.

The schedule for LG polls will be issued in a day or two.

The meeting was told that delimitation for the LG elections was under way in Quetta and Lasbela districts following an increase in constituencies by the provincial government.

The schedule for polls in these two districts will be announced later.

During the meeting, the ECP was briefed on the ongoing revision of electoral rolls.

The commission expr­essed satisfaction over pace of work and directed the provincial election commissioners to vigilantly monitor the revision process to ensure registration of all eligible voters.

The meeting was informed that after a decision of the Islamabad High Court, the schedule for delimitation of the Federal Capital Territory has been re-issued. The preliminary delimitation in the Federal Capital Territory will be published on April 15 followed by publication of final lists on May 19.

The ECP clarified that immediately after the completion of delimitation, it would ensure the holding of local body elections in the federal capital.

The Commission directed the Provincial Election Commissioners to immediately contact the officers concerned of the Pakistan Printing Corporation regarding procurement of election materials and printing of ballot papers to ensure the conduct of elections in Punjab and Sindh as soon as possible.

It also directed the provincial election commissioners to contact the provincial governments immediately so that the election schedule could be issued immediately.

The ECP was briefed about the arrangements for the second phase of local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the polling for which is being held on March 31.

The commission said that holding transparent elections is its responsibility and any kind of irregularity will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against those responsible in case of any irregularity.

The meeting emphasised that at the end of the polling, the presiding officers shall ensure that the result is compiled in the presence of the candidates and their polling agents and copies are handed over to them at the polling station.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2022