By-elections in Khuzdar not possible due to law and order situation, Balochistan govt tells ECP

ISLAMABAD: Balochistan’s government has told the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that holding a by-election for NA-256 Khuzdar is not possible at present, citing the law and order situation in the district.

During a meeting with ECP officials on Wednesday, the province’s chief secretary and inspector general of police briefed that the “presence of militants, tribal disputes, and the need to deploy police and other law enforcement personnel from other districts” had made it difficult to hold the polls.

They said the constituency comprised mountainous terrain, the security situation was “unstable”, and complete security could not be provided to election staff and voters.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, who chaired the meeting, said the commission was bound under the Constitution and law to hold the by-election.

“The ECP will take an appropriate decision on the Khuzdar by-elections,” he said.

The ECP maintained that it was ready to proceed with the by-election and had sought an updated briefing from the provincial administration on the security situation before moving forward.

The NA-256 seat fell vacant after Balochistan National Party chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal resigned in September 2024. In his resignation letter to the National Assembly speaker, Mengal said Balochistan had been “consistently marginalised and ignored” and that the lack of genuine representation had left him unable to bring meaningful change.

The ECP accepted the resignation in February 2026 and issued the by-election schedule on February 13. However, ECP suspended the schedule on March 27 at the provincial government’s request due to the deteriorating security situation.

LG polls in Quetta

During the meeting, the ECP was also briefed on local government elections in the provincial capital, Quetta.

ECP officials said the term of local governments in the provincial capital expired on January 27, 2019, adding that the commission had since carried out two rounds of delimitation and issued three election schedules, but polling could not be held.

The officials informed that delimitation had now been completed and the commission was prepared to hold the LG elections. The election schedule could be issued in the second week of June 2026, the meeting was told.

Under Section 219(3) of the Elections Act and Section 16(2) of the Balochistan Local Government Act, consultation with the provincial government is required before holding the polls.

The chief secretary said the matter would be placed before the provincial cabinet’s next meeting to decide on holding the elections in view of the law and order situation.

The ECP directed the provincial government to convey its position on the consultation so that the electoral process could begin and elections in Quetta could be held in accordance with the law