ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed all arrangements for by elections scheduled to be held on October 16 in nine constituencies of the National Assembly and three constituencies of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab.
This was said by the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, while chairing an important meeting here in Islamabad on Tuesday to review the preparations for upcoming by-elections. The Commission was briefed regarding the second phase of local body elections in Sindh, which are scheduled to be held on October 23.
The Election Commissioner was further informed that the Election Commission has written to the Federal Government for an amount of 600 million rupees to hold by-polls, but these funds have not been received yet. Meanwhile, the ECP has rejected the Sindh government’s request to postpone the local body polls and directed the provincial authorities to ensure law and order is maintained.
A day prior, the Sindh government had requested the ECP to once again postpone the local body polls, citing inadequate police resources to maintain the law and order situation in the province. In its response, the ECP said that maintaining law and order during the election is the responsibility of the provincial government and the law enforcement agencies. “Provincial government should ensure deployment of police personnel during elections in Karachi,” the ECP said.