POLITICAL parties frequently appear reluctant to hold regular local bodies elections on one pretext or another.
This attitude negates constitutional requirements for holding local government polls and establishing LGs, denying voters the right to elect their representatives at the grassroots level. As reported, the ECP has dropped plans to hold LG polls in KP due to the suspension of Article 140-A. After the proclamation of emergency in the province last month, the article had been suspended in specific districts. The centre has now suspended Article 140-A across the province, scuttling plans for LG polls in the foreseeable future. Questions have also been raised regarding the LG polls scheduled in Islamabad for Dec 20, as a petitioner has challenged delimitation in the high court.
In Punjab, however, LG polls should be held in February 2027, unless new obstructions are created.
It is unfortunate that both the state and political parties which claim to be the flag-bearers of democracy put in so much effort to keep third-tier governance in indefinite abeyance.
Under the law, elections are supposed to take place 120 days after the term of an LG expires. However, in Pakistan, the law is routinely flouted. In KP, the LGs’ term expired in June, while in Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory, LG polls should have been held in May 2022 and June 2021, respectively. A common tactic, particularly used by parties ruling a province, is to amend the LG laws so that delimitation and the electoral process are further postponed. This ploy ends up wasting taxpayers’ money and depriving citizens of their right to elect local representatives.
To do away with the legal loopholes, it has been suggested that the Elections Act, 2017, be amended so that no changes to the LG law are allowed once an LG completes its term. Secondly, a constitutional amendment may be required to clarify the process of LG polls so that neither the centre nor the provinces can shirk this essential responsibility. Our cities, towns, and villages cannot develop without functioning and responsive LGs. Moreover, empowered local bodies also present a democratic alternative to the complicated question of forging new provinces, as they would, in theory, bring power and funds down to the local level.