Govt unaware of EC’s proposed UP election dates : State Minister

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The government does not know about the Election Commission’s (EC) proposed dates for the seven-phase Union Parishad (UP) elections, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam said on Tuesday.

He made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on September 15.

The state minister said the government learned about the proposed dates from newspapers, social media and television reports.

“We want to inform the people that the government knows nothing about this. There has been no letter or discussion with the government on the matter,” he said.

Mir Shahe Alam said the EC is an independent body and has the constitutional power to conduct elections. However, he said the government is usually consulted before local government elections are scheduled.

He said meetings are normally held with the government and law enforcement agencies before election dates are announced.

“There are several issues, including the budget. The dates announced by the EC were not discussed with the Local Government Ministry or the government,” he added.