ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party yesterday said Local Government polls were not possible in Sindh as the final report of the 2017 census was still awaited.

Speaking to journalists here, PPP leaders Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Farhatullah Babar, Taj Haider, Murtaza Wahab and Nazir Dhoki said the LG polls cannot be held without the constituency delimitations. PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said as long as the final census report was not released, the LG polls in Sindh cannot be held. Nisar Khuhro said that Sindh government takes pride in the fact that it was the only provincial government under which the LG tenure was completed.

He said that the PPP was not avoiding local government elections but will not do anything illegal. 

“There are 1900 local body units in Sindh and administrators have been appointed in every district of Sindh,” he maintained. The PPP Sindh President said that Sindh was the only province in the country where the LG setup completed their tenure.

Polls without constituency demarcation will be illegal

He said it will be illegal to carry out demarcation of constituencies for these local government elections before the final report was out and the PPP cannot accept any illegality. He said the PPP delegation met the Chief Election Commissioner to remind him that in 2017 - at the time of census - the Election Commission had directed there will be no demarcation of constituencies without final census report.  “At that time one time elections were allowed without the final report,” he added.

Khuhro said that first the notification of census should be issued because without this the demarcation of constituencies will be illegal. “We are not ready to hold these elections till the final report is released,” he added.