PESHAWAR, Nov 27: Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday opposed the law to hold the village council elections in the province on non-party basis and urged the government to hold local body polls on party basis to strengthen democracy and stop horse trading.

The seminar on `Awareness on Local Government Act 2013` was arranged by CRSD in collaboration with SPO at Peshawar Press Club.

Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan, Pakistan People`s Party leader Gauhar Ali Ingilabi, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz women wing provincial general secretary Shaheen Habibullah, National Party provincial president Mukhtar Bacha,SPO regional chief Arshad Haroon, and civil society representatives Zar Ali Khan Mossazai and Imran Shah spoke on the occasion.

The speakers said the government should ensure public debate and awareness programmes prior to the approval of the Local Government Act 2013 so that the people could share input for further improvement of the system.

Mr Inqilabi said the successive governments used to make experiments through the local body elections and therefore, the rulers in different eras had introduced new systems to gain powers at the cost of others` interests.

He said Imran Khan had promised to hold local body elections in three months but failed to do so even in sixmonths.

Mukhtar Bacha said the ruling parties had announced priorities soon after coming into power but they seemed to have changed the policies and thus facing criticism from the public.

He said local body system was the best for welfare of political culture and that members of assemblies should focus on legislation and all funds should be given to local bodies for developmental work.

Other speakers, too, stressed the need for strengthening democratic institutions through polls on the basis of political parties, giving timeframe for the local body elections and adopting policies to discourage corrupt elements.

However, the minister said the an-nouncement of elections in three months was made by the PTI chief but the plan he had given for local body polls was drastically changed by the government before taking the opposition into confidence.

`Before its approval, we had discussed the Local Government Act with the people associated with different stakeholders, including political activists, and accommodated many suggestions to make it more useful so that it could involve more and more people to pave the way for restoration of peace in the province,` he said.

Mr Inayatullah said the government was trying to make the system more transparent and had given the idea of biometric system to the Election Commission.