KP govt mulls delay in second phase of local body polls amid harsh weather

PESHAWAR – The provincial administration in the country’s northwestern region is likely to approach the Election Commission of Pakistan to postpone the second phase of local government elections amid harsh weather.

Reports in local media said KP’s top cop Moazzam Jah Ansari on Monday mentioned a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan last week that discussed the second phase of the local body polls in the province.

The authorities are looking to extend the elections by the third week of March as around 60 percent of the 18 districts will be affected by heavy snow and it would not be an easy task to hold polls in harsh weather, IGP KP said.

Earlier, the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf faced a major blow as the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl clinched local body elections.

The Opposition parties bagged three out of four mayoral seats in local body elections. In the 64 tehsil council, the JUI-F has emerged victorious while the PTI remained runner up.

Independent candidates won 10, ANP six, PML-N three, Jamaat-e-Islami two, and Tehreek-e-Istiqlal in the tehsil council elections

The first phase of local government polls was also marked by violent incidents and attacks that claimed five lives and destroyed some polling stations.