'Delimitation' of areas by Punjab govt raises eyebrows in ECP.

ISLAMABAD -- 'Delimitation' of constituencies for local government elections by the Punjab government has set off alarm bells in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Informed sources told Dawn on Wednesday that delimitation of constituencies was the constitutional mandate of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) but the Punjab government appears to be carrying out delimitation of constituencies for local government elections in the name of demarcation.

'They appear to be confused between delimitation and demarcation,' a senior official of the ECP told Dawn.

He said the commission would hold a meeting on Dec 20 to discuss the apparent encroachment on its domain and summon the secretary of local government next week to explain the provincial government's position.

The ECP has also written a letter to the provincial election commissioner of Punjab seeking various documents including notification of urban and rural local areas notified by the Punjab government, number of metropolitan corporations, tehsil councils, municipal corporations, municipal committees, town committees, neighbourhood councils and number of villages and panchayat councils in the province etc.

Commission will discuss 'encroachment' on its domain and summon the local govt secretary next week

The official said that 100 per cent delimitation in urban areas was to be carried out by the ECP. He said the notified revenue circles in rural areas formed a local council, but the decision on where to place small settlements which were not part of a moza was to be taken by the ECP. 'We will see if they have done this on their own,' he remarked.

The local government and community development department of the Punjab government has issued various notifications, copies of which are available with Dawn, demarcating areas in different districts across the province, citing sections of the recently passed Punjab local Government Act, the Punjab Village, Panchayats, and Neighbourhood Councils Act, 2019, and Punjab demarcation, classification and naming of local areas rules.

Under Article 222 (b) of the Constitution the parliament is to provide by law for the delimitation of constituencies by the ECP.

Section 221 (1) of the Elections Act, 2017 reads: 'For the purpose of holding elections to the local governments, the Commission shall delimit constituencies of the local governments, including union councils, wards in a union council, a ward in a district council or ward in a municipal...

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