In a late-night announcement, the Sindh government stated that the divisions of Karachi and Hyderabad would not be holding the eagerly anticipated local government elections that were scheduled for January 15.
Elections will proceed as scheduled on January 15 in seven districts: Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, and Jamshoro.
The notification to hold the elections based on the current delimitation had also been withdrawn, according to Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, on the demand of their “coalition partner,” the MQM-P, who had serious concerns about it. This announcement was made during a press conference early on Friday.
The MQM-P had demanded the removal of the notification after rejecting the demarcation of local government constituencies and calling them “unjustified.”
Mr. Memon announced at the hastily convened press conference that the provincial government had already written to the Election Commission of Pakistan requesting the postponement of local government elections in Dadu because large portions of the district were still covered by floodwaters.
The choice was made following an emergency meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party, which was presided over by the party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and was also attended by the district presidents of the party’s Karachi chapter, chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, provincial ministers, and other party members.
The Sindh Cabinet had postponed a meeting where the matter was scheduled to be discussed before the PPP gathering.
The demands of the PDM coalition partners were considered at the party meeting, according to Mr. Memon. The second round of Sindh’s local government elections has already been postponed three times. The ECP is required to organize elections within 120 days of the local governments’ term expiring on August 30, 2020.
Due to the unheard-of monsoon rains and flash flooding that enveloped significant portions of the province, the election was delayed from its intended date of July 24. The LG elections were later rescheduled by the ECP for August 28; however, they were postponed once more because of the flood situation and a lack of police officers in Karachi.
