KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced to hold local government (LG) elections in two phases across Sindh in last week of May.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. The CEC was informed that final list of delimitations in Sindh will be released on March 24.
The ECP had also summoned chief secretary Sindh to decide the election dates who suggested the elections should be held in two phases. The ECP eventually decided that the first phase of the elections will be conducted in the last week of May.
The election commission suggested holding LG polls in Sukkur, Benazirabad and Hyderabad in the first phase, and Karachi, Mirpurkhas and Larkana in the second phase.
The Sindh government has been given the final list of districts for the organisation of the LG polls in two phases. The ECP spokesperson added that the Sindh LG polls will be conducted in the last week of May in two phases.
Last month, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said the local government elections will likely be held in two phases. He suggested the first phase can be held in the third week of May and then the second one in the first week of June.
The Sindh cabinet approved further amendments to the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, making next Karachi mayor a member of the governing bodies of city development authorities and the chairman of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.
The amendments came after the PPP government promised to take up the concerns of the opposition parties following a 29-day protest sit-in by Jamaat-i-Islami outside the Sindh Assembly. The Pak Sarzameen Party also took to streets and staged a sit-in for a week.
