Daily Times

The Local Government (LG) Ordinance 2012 has finally been adopted to pave the way for local government elections in Sindh that President Zardari desires to conduct before the general elections. Though belated, the step is considered a positive development to address the day-to-day grievances of the people that an MPA or an MNA sitting in remote Assemblies could not do. The Local Government Ordinance 2012 is a revised version of the Local Government Ordinance 2010. Under the new Ordinance, the appointment of administrators would be on a political basis whereas district coordination officers and commissioners would be appointed in the districts and divisions respectively. The status of Hyderabad would be restored to the one in the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001 and Karachi would be considered as one district with 18 towns. Experts believe that conducting LG elections before the general elections would tax and divert the attention of the Election Commission from a focused arrangement for the general elections early next year. To the parties sitting in opposition, it is yet another ploy of the government to delay general elections.

Democracy is structured in tiers, but when devolved to the lowest rung of representation, it results in better management and comprehensive development. Interestingly, every military government has been a strong advocate of LG. During Musharraf’s rule, local bodies elections preceded not only the general elections but also the referendum that saw him elected as President. Even Ayub’s Basic Democracy was a different version of LG. In Zia’s era, MPAs and the MNAs were literally reduced to the level of councillors as a result of their involvement in governance at the local level. For the military, LGs, elected through partly-less elections, were used to create a base of political support at the expense of the political parties. But to a democratic government it should have come naturally as a corollary to its bigger representation in the National Assembly and Senate. However, no democratic government has prioritised conducting LG elections. The term of the last local bodies expired in 2009. We are three years down the road and nobody except the MQM had been pushing the central government to resurrect the LG system. The Supreme Court had also ordered every province to conduct LG elections by April 2012. Now that the differences between MQM and the PPP appear to have been resolved, the decision to hold LG elections seems a done deal. Hence the Ordinance, eventually to be passed as an Act by the Assembly.