ECP moves to hold local govt polls in 42 cantonment boards across the country

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday said that it was necessary to conduct the local government elections of cantonment boards by August 8.

According to a statement, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja chaired a meeting for consultations over the upcoming local government elections of the cantonment boards.

It added that the consultation with the federal government and legal requirements would be completed in a timely manner so that the ECP could ensure the announcement of the election schedule and conduct of elections.

In his opening remarks, Raja highlighted the importance of establishing local governments and stated that local governments existed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan, while under Article 140(A) of the Constitution of Pakistan, conducting local government elections was the ECP’s responsibility, the statement said.

“However, these elections are conducted under laws framed by the provincial governments,” Raja said in an apparent attempt to justify the ECP’s failure to hold long-overdue local government elections in Punjab and Islamabad.

During the meeting, the ECP was briefed that the last local government elections in the 42 cantonment boards across the country were held on September 12, 2021, it said.

The term of the cantonment boards is fixed at four years from the date of oath-taking of members. The term of the last cantonment board, Kamra, was completed on April 11.

The ECP had also issued a schedule for delimitation of wards in the 42 cantonment boards across the country on January 16, and the final list of constituencies will be published on April 20.

“The election commission is prepared to conduct the local government elections of cantonment boards,” a senior ECP official said.

Meanwhile, the statement said that under Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP was bound to hold elections within 120 days of the expiry of the term of the respective local government. Therefore, it was necessary to conduct the local government elections of cantonment boards by August 8, it stated.

Furthermore, under Section 219(3), consultation with the federal government was required prior to the announcement of the election schedule. Similarly, under Section 19D(2) of the Cantonments Act, 1924, a formal written request from the federal government to the ECP was required for holding elections of cantonment boards, it said.

According to the handout, during the meeting, the ECP was requested to consult with the federal government for determining the date of holding local government elections in cantonments.

In addition to the ECP members, the director general of Military Lands and Cantonments and the additional secretary of the Ministry of Defence also attended the meeting, assuring their full cooperation for the timely conduct of local government elections in cantonments.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Defence’s additional secretary said that after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the conduct of local government elections had become a regular and continuous process, the statement concluded.