ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) yesterday scrapped the schedule for local government polls in Islamabad and said new timetable would be announced on October 19.
However, the ECP said the polling date (November 30 ) would remain unchanged. There are some discrepancies in delimitation of constituencies in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) that are most likely to be resolved after the notification of fresh schedule. The ECP said last Monday that the draft delimitation of ICT had been prepared and displayed at the office of Delimitation Officer Chaudhry Aleem Shahab in F-8 Markaz.
But, sources in the commission said that there existed loopholes in delimitation of constituencies that would be corrected in the fresh schedule. The polls would be the first to be conducted in the federal capital on grass roots level.
A spokesman for ECP said the ban on appointment and transfer of officers was lifted till announcement of new schedule, adding there was no bar on the government or lawmakers to announce uplift schemes till the schedule is announced.
In another development, the ECP said that District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) have been empowered to exercise magisterial powers during bye-polls in NA-122, NA-144 and PP-147.
It explained that the officers can exercise the powers till the announcements of polls results in the mentioned constituencies. Bye-election would be held on October 11.