The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) may announce next week the postponement of Punjab polls, planned for May 14, reported The News citing sources within the electoral body.
The publication stated that the ECP has made it crystal clear that the Punjab Assembly elections will not take place on May 14 due to the inability of different acts to be scheduled in accordance with the deadline.
According to the sources, ECP has not yet placed an order for the printing of the ballots, a picture voter list, or other items. The necessary workforce still has to be retained and trained.
According to the sources, "the whole exercise involves a huge amount of money that is not available to the Election Commission."
Elections in Punjab were scheduled for May 14 after a Supreme Court three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial overturned the ECP's decision to move the polling day from April 30 to October 8.
The ruling instructed the government to give Rs21 billion to ECP by April 10 and instructed ECP to produce a report on the matter by April 11.
As the release of funds was not approved by parliament, the government declined to release any money.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was told by the CJP-led bench on April 14 to release the money immediately to the Election Commission, but it notified the court that although it had allotted the funds, it lacked the authority to do so.
The government was also required under the April 4 order to share an election security plan by April 17. But the government did not fulfill this.
The Supreme Court was notified by ECP on April 18 that polling on May 14 was becoming unfeasible due to a lack of resources and security personnel to maintain law and order.
The ECP responded, "At least 466,000 personnel are needed for security in Punjab."
The electoral authority also stated that it had requested the personnel of the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, and Rangers in a letter to the federation but had not received a response.
The electoral body stated that it is its duty to hold peaceful, transparent elections.
The ruling coalition and PTI have held two rounds of talks in a bid to reach a consensus on elections, and the last and final round of talks is expected to be held today.
The publication stated that the ECP has made it crystal clear that the Punjab Assembly elections will not take place on May 14 due to the inability of different acts to be scheduled in accordance with the deadline.
According to the sources, ECP has not yet placed an order for the printing of the ballots, a picture voter list, or other items. The necessary workforce still has to be retained and trained.
According to the sources, "the whole exercise involves a huge amount of money that is not available to the Election Commission."
Elections in Punjab were scheduled for May 14 after a Supreme Court three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial overturned the ECP's decision to move the polling day from April 30 to October 8.
The ruling instructed the government to give Rs21 billion to ECP by April 10 and instructed ECP to produce a report on the matter by April 11.
As the release of funds was not approved by parliament, the government declined to release any money.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was told by the CJP-led bench on April 14 to release the money immediately to the Election Commission, but it notified the court that although it had allotted the funds, it lacked the authority to do so.
The government was also required under the April 4 order to share an election security plan by April 17. But the government did not fulfill this.
The Supreme Court was notified by ECP on April 18 that polling on May 14 was becoming unfeasible due to a lack of resources and security personnel to maintain law and order.
The ECP responded, "At least 466,000 personnel are needed for security in Punjab."
The electoral authority also stated that it had requested the personnel of the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, and Rangers in a letter to the federation but had not received a response.
The electoral body stated that it is its duty to hold peaceful, transparent elections.
The ruling coalition and PTI have held two rounds of talks in a bid to reach a consensus on elections, and the last and final round of talks is expected to be held today.