The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected on Wednesday Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti’s petition seeking the postponement of local government elections in Quetta that were scheduled to be held on December 28.
Bugti had filed the petition on Monday, and informed sources told Dawn that he cited the precarious law and order situation in the provincial capital and the suspension of internet services as reasons for postponing the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation (QMC) elections.
In its written order today, seen by Dawn, the ECP said the plea was being rejected for “being devoid of force” and that the electoral body had decided to hold local government elections in Quetta on the already scheduled date of Dec 28.
However, in the majority decision, one of the six members of the commission that considered the plea was in favour of the postponement of local government elections.
In its order, the ECP directed the Balochistan government to assist the commission and “all other functionaries who have been entrusted responsibilities for the conduct of local government elections in District Quetta in every possible manner”.
It also instructed that “foolproof security arrangements” be made for the safety and security of voters, contesting candidates, the general public and polling staff, as well as to ensure the smooth conduct of polls in Quetta.
ECP, in its order, noted that the chief minister had filed an appeal on Dec 8 seeking the postponement of elections, stating that elections should be rescheduled to a time when “when weather, security, administrative preparedness, constituency demarcation & voter rolls accuracy are ensured.”
The commission took up the matter on Dec 9 for a review, it said.
Addressing “irregularities” regarding constituency demarcation, ECP clarified that, “the process of delimitation of constituencies was completed after observing all legal processes, i.e. publication of preliminary list of constituencies for inviting proposals, objections on preliminary lists and the same was finalised after hearing and deciding the objections/representations.”
It also recalled a Balochistan High Court (BHC) order, which on October 10, had dismissed petitions filed on the same ground and directed the commission to hold elections “as soon as possible.”
ECP further maintained that “the appellant has wrongly calculated the term of expiry of local government elections in Balochistan”.
“As per Section 26 of the Balochistan Local Government Act, 2010, the term of local government election is for four [years]. In the present case, the members and chairman/vice chairman of union councils, municipal committees and municipal corporations took oath on February 9, 2023, for which the expiry of term is February 9, 2027.
“However, the members and chairman/ vice chairman of district councils took oath on July 6, 2023, for which the term of expiry is July 5, 2027.”
The order added that the commission had “carried out the process of reconciliation of electoral rolls wherever required to adjust voters in accordance with census blocks, wards and delimitation through door-to-door verifications”.
“For the purpose, vide publicity was given to facilitate the voters and inspiring contesting candidates for registration and transfer of their votes,” it said, adding that the election schedule was issued after the completion of this process.
The order noted that ECP had completed the delimitation process “twice” and “after a number of meetings with the provincial government of Balochistan, issued the election programs twice”.
However, the elections could not be held despite “efforts” of the commission, the order noted.
On the matter of law and order situation and harsh weather, the ECP recalled a request made by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in Oct 2021 — on the same grounds — where the Supreme Court (SC) had upheld the electoral body’s decision to proceed with the elections.
The SC directed the provincial government to proceed with the local government elections in the case.
It also noted that the “process of printing of ballot papers has been already started, and [the] maximum number of ballot papers have been printed out.”
In his dissenting note, ECP member Shah Muhammad Jatoi, while agreeing with the commission’s decision on delimitation, electoral rolls and term, maintained that harsh weather conditions could lead to a “low” voter turnout as most residents during December “migrate from the district (Quetta) to [other] districts”.
He further noted: “I am also of the considered view that the law and order situation in the province of Balochistan is not conducive for [the] conduct of local government elections in the present scenario.”
Quetta local polls
The Balochistan government had previously requested the election commission on November 2 as well to postpone the polls in Quetta, citing similar reasons. However, the request was turned down a day later.
Prior to that on Oct 6, a bench of the BHC had rejected constitutional petitions filed by numerous individuals regarding the postponement of the elections and directed the election commissioner of Balochistan to hold the local government elections as soon as possible.
In view of the BHC orders, the election commission had started preparation for holding elections in Quetta and announced the schedule for it on November 13.
Elections will now be held in 172 union councils and 641 wards, with 2,710 candidates contesting the elections in Quetta district.
The previous local bodies, elected in 2015, had completed their tenure on January 27, 2019.
Under the Elections Act 2017, local body elections should be held within 120 days after the expiry of the term. However, the polls were held in May 2022, more than three years after the expiry of the previous term.
The delay primarily resulted from a lack of consensus among political parties over proposed amendments to the Balochistan Local Government Act, 2010, and issues concerning the delimitation of constituencies.
The LG elections in two major districts with sizeable urban populations in the province, Quetta and Lasbela, were delayed because of issues with the delimitation of wards.
While the LG elections in Lasbela were held at the end of 2022, the elections in Quetta could not be held due to pending litigation in the BHC over the delimitation of wards in the district.
