The local representatives have been found actively involved in electoral canvassing for their respective political comrades contesting provincial and national elections. Holding of elections at local levels has been suffering from shortcomings that have far-reaching consequences. Its harmful effects can be discussed as follows.
First, Section 153 of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance of 2005 provides for holding the local bodies elections on a non-party basis. The political parties blatantly violated the electoral laws. Despite the fact that the government is aware of their participation and influence, it did not take any electoral disciplinary action against the rule-breakers.
Second, the candidate contesting elections independently will feel psychological uneasiness and political insecurity. They will have a fear in their minds that they will not enjoy the support of the upper tiers of the government in service delivery. This will hamper social development. Because if there is a government of another party at the provincial level and another party at the lower level, then this will lead to political tension.
The history of local bodies elections reveals that several political parties boycotted these elections. Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, a central leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), declared that the claim of holding of local bodies elections on non-party basis by the party in government was humorous. The ANP boycotted the 1987 local bodies elections.
Third, the most disastrous side of holding local bodies elections on a non-party basis is the promotion and encouragement of sectarianism and ethnicity in Pakistan, like in the case of Karachi. In the 1983 local bodies elections, sectarian and ethnic sentiments were exploited. Similar tactics in the 1983 elections led to the birth of ethnic groups such as the Mohajir (now Muttahida) Qaumi Movement and the Punjabi-Pukhtun Ittehad. Such tendencies are disastrous for national integration and against the essence of democracy.
Fourth, the non-party based elections deprive the candidates of any particular ideology or programme to offer. The question that comes to the surface is how is it possible to fight elections without any proper manifesto or programme?
Ironically, local government elections have always been held under the shadow of military dictators in Pakistan. These military dictators had their own ulterior motives and they targeted their political opponents. Several politicians and political parties have become the victims of their tyrannical actions. Some of the reasons for holding non-party elections are as follows.
The claim of the government of conducting local bodies elections on non-party basis is a clear manifestation of its political hypocrisy. The government of the day in different times supported the ‘King’s or Toady Party’.
The electoral history of Pakistan shows that the governments of the time deliberately created rifts among political parties. Some supported military governments, while some were anti-military regimes. For example, President Ayub Khan formed the Convention Muslim League; President Ziaul Haq formed the Muslim League (Junejo Group) and President Pervez Musharraf established the All Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam Group). It is noteworthy that each time it was the Muslim League that was divided into factions.
There are various genuine reasons to hold local bodies elections on a party basis in Pakistan. Following are some recommendations:
First, this will promote a sense of competition among political parties at the lower level that will have an impact on national politics. This competition among different parties will force them to concentrate on social development, and they in turn will strive to deliver more social services.
Second, political accountability is the essence of participatory democracy. The party-based local bodies elections will enable the citizens to fix responsibility on political parties at the grassroots level and will make the political parties more responsive to the masses. In addition to this, the leaders of the respective political parties will become more responsible and public-spirited.
Third, political education and participatory democracy are intimately linked. The party-based elections will promote political education because the political parties will play a role-training camp for their candidates and voters to be able to play their part without any fear. And it will help participatory democracy to flourish at the grassroots level.
Fourth, this will enable people to make a distinction between patriotic and non-patriotic parties. They will elect candidates of the political parties that are more considerate of their needs.
Fifth, by holding elections on party basis, the sanctity of the constitution can be ensured. And the violation of electoral laws can be stopped.
In a nutshell, the local bodies elections should be held on party basis to ensure real democracy at the grassroots level. Otherwise, it is contradictory to Article 17 of the 1973 constitution of Pakistan, which guarantees any citizen the right to form a political party. If a political party is not allowed to contest elections at the lower level, then what shall be the utility of that political party? The findings of a study on the subject show that the non-party basis local bodies elections have severe legal, political, social and psychological implications. The panacea for all these ills lies in holding local bodies elections on a party basis.
(Concluded)
The writer is a lecturer of Political Science at Islamia College, Peshawar and can be reached at [email protected]