The Sindh government on Wednesday appeared to accept the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) directive to hold local body elections later this month in the metropolitan center of Karachi. But he has proposed to conduct them in a phased manner.
Faiz Ahmad Patafi, Section Officer of Sindh Services, General Administration and Coordination Department, wrote a letter to the Provincial Election Commissioner regarding the second phase of local body elections in Karachi Division on Wednesday.
The letter, a copy of which is available with JEE News, reiterated the provincial government’s stand and once again urged the ECP to reconsider holding local body elections in Karachi on October 23.
Patafi said that the provincial government is not in a position to provide the required security for holding free and fair elections in the city.
“This request is made in view of the recent floods due to which a large number of the police force is engaged in flood relief activities, and it is not possible to release them for election-related duties,” he wrote.
The section officer urged the ECP to postpone the polls for another three months so that adequate numbers of police and other support forces could be mobilized to conduct the polls in a “free and fair manner”.
After the ECP had already rejected requests from the provincial government and the federal government to postpone the polls, the Sindh government suggested a middle ground.
Patafi suggested that if the Election Commission of Pakistan does not decide to postpone the elections, it is requested to conduct the local body elections in Karachi Division in two phases.
He wrote that elections can be held in the first phase in three districts of Karachi.
Elections may be held in the remaining four districts of Karachi in the second phase.
By decentralizing the elections, the official said, it will help the provincial government to focus available resources and ensure peaceful and transparent conduct of local elections in Karachi.
Earlier, the ECP had postponed the local body elections twice in the province due to floods.
