Parliament passes amendment allowing EC to hold local elections amid emergency

The parliament, on Tuesday, passed an amendment to the "Special Bill for the Local Council Elections 2020" to enable the Elections Commission (EC) to conduct the already delayed polls before the end of the ongoing state of public health emergency.

As per the sunset bill, passed by the parliament on April 30, 2020, EC can only host the local council and Women Development Committee (WDC) elections once the presently-declared state of public health emergency is over and only after the Health Protection Agency (HPA) determines that there is no longer a public health risk to hold the elections. The bill also mandated the election watchdog to hold the election within one year of the bill's passing.