Local govt polls schedule still tentative: EC senior secretary

The Election Commission (EC) has said that the proposed schedule for the upcoming local government elections is still tentative and will be finalised only after consultations with relevant stakeholders on 17 September.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed made the clarification on Tuesday, saying the commission had held preliminary discussions over the past two days on the timing and modalities of the local government elections.
“Local government elections will be held – that is certain. But when they will be held, under what method and in how many phases are matters still under discussion,” he said.
The EC senior secretary’s comment came a day after an EC commissioner briefed journalists on a tentative plan to hold the elections in five phases, with two additional reserve phases.
Akhtar said that the proposed seven-phase arrangement was only a preliminary schedule prepared as part of the commission’s preparatory discussions.
He said the commission will finalise the schedule based on the inputs it receives from the stakeholders from different ministries and agencies directly involved in the election and voting process on 17 September.
He also said that the commission deliberately prepared the tentative phase-wise plan before the stakeholder meeting so that the relevant ministries and agencies can provide specific inputs to the commission.
Among the stakeholders are representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs, as well as agencies directly involved in conducting the elections, he said.
“Different stakeholders have various preparatory issues. They need some preliminary information to organise their preparations and come to us with their inputs. Based on those inputs, the commission will be able to finalise the schedule,” Akhtar said.
The clarification effectively puts on hold any assumption that the five-phase schedule announced on Monday represents the final timetable for the local government elections.
‘Govt unaware of EC’s UP polls date announcement’
Speaking to journalists at the secretariat on Tuesday, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said that the government is unaware of any announcement regarding the date for the Union Parishad (UP) elections.
“Like you, we at the Local Government Ministry have seen in newspapers, social media and television reports that the Election Commission has announced the dates for the Union Parishad elections in several phases,” he said. 
He said, “The local government ministry is also in the dark. There has been no exchange of correspondence between the government and the Election Commission regarding this matter, nor have there been any discussions through other channels.”
Shahe Alam noted that the Election Commission (EC) is independent and possesses the constitutional authority to conduct elections. 
He explained that for local government elections, usually the EC announces dates after consulting with the government in accordance with established procedures. 
“Preparatory meetings and law-and-order committee meetings are held, covering various aspects, including the budget,” the state minister added. 
The state minister said there has been no discussion between the EC and the Ministry of Local Government or the government itself. “The government is unaware of the matter.”