Committee passes bill to delay local council elections

A bill proposed by the government to delay the local council elections has been passed by the parliament’s Committee on Independent Institutions.

The local council election has been delayed due to the ongoing public health emergency declared in the country due to COVID-19. The terms of the current councilors are set to expire on June 3.

The bill proposed by MP Hisaan Hussain is titled as the “The Special Bill for the Local Council Elections 2020”. It calls to hold the elections when the situation with the public health emergency is declared as over. The bill also calls to hold the elections before January 6, 2021.

The bill was accepted by the Parliament with 60 votes. No MP voted against the bill.

The Committee imposed two additional articles to the bill. One article stated that the Women’s Development Committee elections must also be held along with the local council elections.

The second article states that the permanent voter registry work, re-registration and, reallocation of ballot boxes, as well as the work surrounding the number of voters, must be conducted again when the election is held.