THE chief election commissioner has called upon the Punjab government to ensure that local government elections in the province are held immediately. He has cited constitutional and legal provisions, as well as Supreme Court orders, to justify the demand. While this paper has always called for the timely holding of local polls as a constitutional requirement, and advocated for strong LGs, the fact is that the ECP chief`s instructions may not be feasible in the midst of the national flood emergency. Local polls in Punjab, as well as the delayed second phase in Sindh, need to be held as soon as possible, but only after the floodwaters have subsided, and the affected people are in a position to exercise their right to adult franchise. While the central and northern parts of Punjab have fared relatively better where the floods are concerned, the southern parts of the province bordering Sindh and Balochistan have been hit hard, which means immediate LG polls in these areas will hardly be possible. Moreover, with the weatherman forecasting more rains for this month, relief and rehabilitation work may be affected, further delaying local polls.

Once people in Punjab and Sindh are in position to cast their votes with their homes rebuilt and livelihoods restored the LG polls should go ahead without delay. However, the political actors involved need to be asked why local polls have constantly been put off. For example, by law, LG polls should be held 120 days after the expiry of the local bodies` terms. In Sindh, the LGs completed their term in August 2020; the first leg of LG polls was only held in the province in June of this year, clearly beyond the 120-day legal limit.

The floods have struck hard, but why did the Sindh and Punjab governments not hold the elections in better times? The fact is that all political parties fear that empowered local bodies will dent their politics of patronage, and were it not for the pressure of the courts, the parties would be least interested in holding these crucial polls.

It is also true that working LGs can play a more effective role in all stages of managing natural disasters, much better than MNAs and MPAs preoccupied with power politics, or `VIPs` that parachute in for a brief period. Whether it is organising civil defence, helping evacuate settlements or coordinating relief and rehabilitation work, it is the LG representatives who are closest to the people, and can better communicate their needs to the federal and provincial governments, as well as to donors. While LGs can play a crucial disaster-mitigation role in the flood-prone rural areas, even in the cities they can help better deal with urban flooding. Elected local bodies may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but they can surely play a constructive part in building resilience to natural calamities.