Quetta Local Government Elections: 400,000 Citizens Deprived of Voting Rights Under Old Census, PNAP Demands Corrected Electoral Lists After Postponement

**Quetta (Qudrat Daily):** The Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party (PNAP) has commented on the postponement of local government elections in Quetta, highlighting that the party had made extensive preparations to participate at every level. PNAP was among the two major political parties that fielded the largest number of candidates for Quetta’s municipal councils, with hundreds of nominations across all four towns, union councils, and wards.

The party expressed concern that the government and Election Commission had initially planned to conduct local elections based on the old census, which would have excluded approximately 400,000 citizens from Quetta from exercising their basic democratic right to vote. PNAP had filed a constitutional petition in the Balochistan High Court over two and a half years ago against this injustice. According to the party, Quetta’s population has grown to around 2.6 million under the new census, while the 2024 general elections were held based on this updated population data. Conducting local elections on the old census of 2.2 million would have disenfranchised nearly 400,000 residents.

The statement also revealed alleged irregularities in the electoral process, including the transfer of voters’ names between areas, creation of manipulated wards by land mafias, and formation of wards with only three to a few hundred voters. Influential individuals reportedly even created wards covering their own households to ensure unopposed election of family members. The delay in releasing results by two days further indicated organized electoral malpractice.

PNAP criticized lawmakers and ministers for using government resources during the electoral process, with no effective action taken despite written complaints to the Chief Election Commissioner, Provincial Election Commissioner, and district Returning Officers.

With the elections now postponed, PNAP stressed that the Election Commission’s immediate responsibility is to correct the electoral lists, implement fair constituency demarcations based on the new census, and take strict action against those who manipulated wards for personal gain. The party emphasized that only transparent, fair, and constitutionally grounded local elections can ensure solutions to public issues and strengthen democracy.