Daily Times

After an unreasonable and unconscionable delay in the holding of local government polls, at last the provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh have shown their willingness to conduct the elections by May 2015, November 2015 and March 2016 respectively as per commitments made by the representatives of these three provincial governments with the Election Commission of Pakistan. In Balochistan, the election process has already been completed in three phases. Although staggered dates have been announced for the elections in these three remaining provinces, yet it is a good omen that the last remaining mandatory process of democracy is going to be completed finally. These elections are being held by the Election Commission of Pakistan on a party basis, which can provide the soil for future national leaders. A mess was created by the military dictator General Ziaul Haq back in the 1980s when he held local government elections on a non-party basis through an amendment in the constitution with the aim of creating a political base of support for himself and thereby prolonging his illegitimate rule. He followed this up by ‘selecting’ the members of parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora), whose subsequent direct involvement in local government affairs (and finances) damaged the very concept of grassroots representation. The holding of local government elections is part of a democratic system, which helps ordinary citizens get their civic problems resolved through local representatives. The present three provincial governments showed apathy towards holding these elections and kept delaying the process through lame excuses and dodging the Supreme Court’s orders, which had taken up the issue under former Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. A major reason for the persistent delay in holding elections is said to be the delimitation of constituencies. Especially in Sindh and Punjab, this difficulty is portrayed as an almost impossible task. The provincial governments of the PPP and PML-N respectively in these provinces are reluctant to complete this democratic process because they are reluctant to let go of and devolve power to the grassroots. It would deprive the elected members of the provincial and National Assemblies of these provinces of the perks and privileges they enjoy due to control of development funds meant for local governments. This is not the business of the elected members of the provincial and National Assemblies, who are sent to the houses to legislate, not attend to civic problems, a hangover of General Ziaul Haq’s manoeuvres. It must be pointed out that the Balochistan government, despite the province being the least developed of all the provinces, has completed local government elections despite facing a nationalist insurgency and other problems.

It is the moral and constitutional obligation of the Election Commission of Pakistan to deliver free, fair and transparent elections at the local level. The present Chief Election Commissioner has shown some seriousness to resolve the issue and this has forced the representatives of the Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to commit to a tentative schedule for the elections. Despite the fact that local government elections are in the best interests of the country, being the lowest rung of the democratic edifice, the provincial governments must now stop making lame excuses to delay this process. It is not an insurmountable task to hold local government polls. Adjustments can be made regarding the issue of delimitation of the constituencies. This should be left to the Election Commission of Pakistan. It is the basic right of citizens to have easy access to their elected representatives at the local level. The local government setup plays the role of a bridge between the citizens and the state. No further hurdles should be created in the path of this process.