ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reserved its decision on the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) plea to hold local body elections in Karachi and Hyderabad on dual voter list, while the Sindh’s additional advocate general was stripped of his right to argue due to lack of preparation.

A three-member commission under the chairmanship of the Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja heard the MQM-P’s plea regarding voter lists in Karachi’s local government elections.

MQM-P’s lawyer argued that the use of new voter lists for the second phase of elections is against the law. When the notification was issued on April 29, the ECP was not complete, he contended.

The CEC replied that the plea was only regarding the voter list and the arguments should be limited to that. He added that MQM had contested the 2018 election and the first phase of the by-elections on the same voter list. He instructed the MQM-P lawyer to focus on the issue in the plea and not on other matters.

The MQM-P lawyer responded that ECP would have to listen to his arguments.

The CEC responded that the lawyer could continue arguing and the bench would continue listening but it wouldn’t result in any delays in the local body elections.

When the Sindh government asked for time till next week to prepare the case, the Election Commission stripped the additional attorney general of the right to argue on lack of preparation.

Meanwhile, the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz requested that the local body elections be held on January 15 in any case.

Election Commission Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Malik said that if MQM’s objections are accepted, elections can never be held.

When the director general of the law department of the ECP requested that MQM-P’s be rejected, the CEC responded that LG election laws are tinkered with before the polls which renders the ECP helpless. “Political parties do not want local government elections to take place on time.”

After the arguments were completed, the ECP reserved its decision on the MQM’s request to hold local body elections in Karachi and Hyderabad on the new voter list.