Uncertain local governments

THE battle between the Election Commission of Pakistan and the provincial and federal governments has been an almost permanent feature of Pakistan’s electoral scene since 2010, when the responsibility for holding local government elections was entrusted to the Commission under the 18th Amendment. Currently, the ECP is fighting a four-way battle — with the provincial governments of Punjab and KP, the federal government, and the cantonment boards — for LG elections in the two provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), and the cantonment boards. The LGs in Sindh and Balochistan (except in the…