Lahore: The Election Commission of Pakistan has decided to postpone by-elections in various national and provincial constituencies of Punjab. According to the decision, the election process has been postponed in the National Assembly constituencies NA-66 Wazirabad, NA-96 Faisalabad, NA-104 Faisalabad, NA-129 Lahore and NA-143 Sahiwal.
Similarly, by-elections have also been postponed in the Provincial Assembly constituencies PP-73 Sargodha, PP-87 Mianwali, PP-98 Faisalabad and PP-203 Sahiwal.
The Election Commission has clarified in its order that due to the recent severe floods in Punjab, the communication system has been disrupted, government and private infrastructure has been severely damaged, while several school buildings have been destroyed. These are the same buildings that are used for polling stations and storing electoral records.
Moreover, the civil administration and law enforcement agencies are currently engaged in relief and rescue operations, due to which it is not possible to perform election duties.
The floods have not only affected the lives of the people but have also disrupted the election schedule. According to experts, although the decision of the Election Commission is a difficult step in terms of democratic continuity, this step seems inevitable considering the ground realities. The availability of infrastructure, polling stations and security forces is necessary for any election process, which is not possible at the moment.
