ISLAMABAD (National Times) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday announced the schedule for the second phase of local government (LG) elections in Sindh.

According to an ECP notification, the election will be held on July 24 to fill the seats of chairman and vice-chairman of the union councils, union committees, and general members in each union council, union committee and ward in the municipal committees or town committees and district councils of Karachi and Hyderabad/Thatta divisions.

The ECP called upon the electors of respective local councils and wards of the said divisions to elect their representatives.

As per schedule, the public notices will be issued by the returning officers (ROs) on June 3 in their offices. The nomination papers will be submitted to the ROs concerned from June 8 to June 11.

The publication of the names of nominated candidates will be on June 13 while the scrutiny of nomination papers by the ROs will be during June 15-17.

Similarly, the date for filing of appeals against the decision of ROs will be June 18-22 while the last date for deciding of appeals by the appellate authority will be June 25.

The date for publication of the revised list of candidates will be June 27 while the last date for withdrawal and publication of the revised candidate list will be June 28.

The date for the allotment of symbols to contesting candidates will be June 29 while the date for the consolidation of results will be July 28.

In further guidelines to ensure the elections are held fairly and honestly and to ensure that corrupt practices are prevented, the ECP barred executive authorities from announcing development projects or using state resources to influence polls in favour of a candidate.

It warned that any government official who misused their position to influence the elections would be proceeded against under the law. The ECP also barred transfers and postings of government officers or granting them leaves in divisions for which the election schedule had been issued without the commission’s prior approval.

The first phase covers a total of 14 districts of Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Mirpurkhas divisions. The first phase of local government elections will be held in these districts on June 26, 2022, from 8am to 5pm while the results will be on June 30.