Elections for Karachi’s local government (LG) that were supposed to take place on October 23 were postponed by the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) on Tuesday. The second phase of the Sindh LG elections was once again postponed by ECP.
The decision was made in response to the Sindh government’s third request, which sought to postpone the LG elections in seven Karachi districts for three months due to a staff shortfall.
In order to safeguard the safety and security of the public, the decision was made. The Interior Department declined to provide the static deployment of law enforcement troops that the elections required. The election authority designated all 5000 voting places to be sensitive in a statement.
According to the news statement, ECP was forced to postpone the LG elections in seven Karachi districts. Additionally, the ECP has decided to hold another meeting to decide on the date for local government elections after 15 days.
The change occurs when the Sindh government requested that the Pakistani Election Commission postpone the city’s local body elections due to a lack of security personnel.
The Sindh government requested that the LG elections in Karachi be delayed for three months in a letter to the ECP. Without adequate protection, it is impossible to hold free and fair elections, the government claimed.
The letter read that Karachi is the most populous division of the country with a population bigger than Balochistan. At least 5,000 polling stations would be established to hold the LG polls, requiring at least 39,000 security personnel to maintain law and order.
