LG elections: Sindh govt fails to comply with SC orders again

Election commission yet to be handed over UC delimitation power as deadline passes.

KARACHI: The Sindh government has once again failed to comply with court orders and has yet to hand over delimitation powers of union councils (UC) to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The Supreme Court (SC) had directed the provincial government in March to amend the law hand over the delimitation power to the election commission within the next five months, setting August 20 as the deadline. However, the deadline has now passed and the provincial government is yet to comply with the order. "We are still waiting to be handed over the authority, despite the passing of the set deadline," provincial election commissioner SM Tariq Qadri told The Express Tribune.

Controversial reforms

The issue first made headlines in 2013 when the Sindh government passed a law in the provincial assembly empowering deputy commissioners with UC delimitation powers.

The controversial move was criticised by many political parties and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz challenged the law in court, alleging that the provincial government is using politically appointed bureaucrats to set favourable UC boundaries.

The court's orders

The Sindh High Court (SHC), in December 2013, nullified the entire delimitation process carried out by the provincial government, labelling it 'discriminatory'. The court directed the officials to empower the election commission with delimitation powers. The Sindh government challenged the decision in the SC in March, but the latter also upheld the SHC's decision and directed the provincial government to finish this process within the next five months so that election commission could carry out the delimitation process and hold elections as soon as possible.

Changes expected

An official source in the law department, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the provincial government has not only prepared the law, but will also undo some of the other changes made in the Sindh Local Government Act 2013. "The clauses that will be modified include UC-level election panels and the UC population limit," he said.

He explained that the provincial government had made it mandatory in the local government (LG) act to contest the LG polls only by forming panels, which meant that no individual could contest the elections on their own. The individual had to seek likeminded candidates, form a panel with them and then contest the elections as part of a panel. This will no longer be the case.

Apart from this, the lower-limit for UC population will be decreased from 40,000 to 10,000.

Progress

There were reports that Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan had promulgated the ordinance on Monday night. However, the governor house spokesman refuted the media reports and said that the ordinance is yet to be issued. The spokesman added that since the assembly is not in session, the law cannot be passed at the moment. However, the governor can issue an ordinance that will later be adopted by the assembly.

The minister for parliamentary affairs, Dr Sikandar Mandhro, who also looks after law-related matters for the Sindh government, said that the delay in compliance with the apex court's order is due to the time taken in consulting legal experts. "We have now finalised this law and will hand over the delimitation power to the election commission," claimed Dr Mandhro. "The chief minister has approved the summary and the governor Sindh can now issue the ordinance."

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2014.