The PTI had come into the power with a promise of introducing a strong local government system but its governments at the Centre and in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are completely ignoring the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

In a report, 24NewsHD TV channel, quoting sources, on Tuesday said the PTI-led government in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been unable to even issue notify the local government polls rules.

Hence, the ECP is still awaiting the notifications by the respective provincial government which are a prerequisite for making preparations about the local government elections.

The sources say the ECP has now decided to convene a video link meeting to ascertain the stance of these two provinces and ask about the status of the required notification regarding the rules.

Earlier, the country’s election top body had directed the two provinces months ago to issue the notification containing the rules to hold local government polls.

Meanwhile, it is the federal government which is causing the delay in demarcation processes as the province does have the official notification about the 2017 census results despite the ECP’s directives in this regard.

This situation is quite a U-turn as Prime Minister Imran Khan has been repeatedly listing local government system as a basic requirement to ensure development for the people by transferring powers to the grass-root level.

However, it is believed that the PTI wants to delay the elections as it is not sure of complete control over the local government setup in Punjab if elections are held amid the current state of affairs.

In fact, the PTI is facing severe criticism for removing the local governments in the province dominated by the PML-N, which were considered most active and powerful in the country.

The ECP directed the Punjab government’s related committee on August 5 to fix suitable dates for holding upper-tier elections for village and neighbourhood councils but no appropriate response has so far been received despite repeated reminders.