QUETTA: The government of Balochistan has written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) requesting it to postpone by-election on a provincial assembly seat (PB-20) in Pishin.
The letter stated that Pishin would be experiencing severe cold conditions in January and February as the weather department has forecast snowfall in the district during this period, due to which the local administration will not be able to make arrangements for the by-election, which had been scheduled for February 16.
Moreover, the security situation is unstable as the law enforcement agencies are making all-out efforts to eliminate anti-state elements, the letter said, adding the second wave of the coronavirus is also taking a heavy toll on the people and that political activities, corner meetings and rallies amid the pandemic will potentially lead to the further spread of the virus.
The government, therefore, asked the commission to postpone the by-election.
The ECP had last month decided to hold by-elections for all vacant seats of the national and provincial assemblies. The seats include two of the National Assembly (NA-75, Sialkot and NA-45 Orakzai) and six of the provincial assemblies (PS-43 Sanghar, PS-88 Malir, PB-20 Pishin, PS-52 Umerkot, PK-63 Nowshera, and PS-88 Gujranwala).
Earlier on December 28, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo had demanded the postponement of Senate election on the vacant seat of late Senator Kalsoom Parveen due to the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
Bizenjo wrote a letter to Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raza to demand postponement of election on the Senate’s seat which fell vacant after the death of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Senator Kalsoom Parveen due to coronavirus. Bizenjo in his letter asked how the polls for electing a new senator can be organised within 10 days.
It stated that the ECP issued a schedule to hold elections on a vacant seat of Senate on January 14. The tenure of late Parveen is ending on March 11 and the next polls of the upper house are already scheduled in February 2021, it read.
The speaker said that it is impossible to make arrangements for the polls during this period due to coronavirus pandemic. He demanded the ECP for reviewing the schedule of elections and urged to hold polls once on the vacant seat instead of organising the election twice in a short period of time. The Senate chairman forwarded the matter to the ECP.
