Despite efforts by the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Punjab and Sindh have still not been able to advance on the issue of local government elections. Neither of them can possibly conduct the polls at least for another one year. Already the LG polls are late by more than five years.
A top official of the ECP revealed to The Express Tribune that the two provincial governments were not cooperating with the commission on the delimitation process for LG polls.
Balochistan is still the only province where LG polls were carried out on the intervention of the Supreme Court last year.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has been in power in Punjab since 2008 and the main opposition party, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is the ruling party in Sindh province for the last six years.
The apex court earlier had allowed Punjab and Sindh to finalise legislation for authorising the ECP to delimit constituencies for local government elections until October 30.
The development came as the Sindh Assembly passed a law to hand over the powers of delimitation to ECP, while a similar bill was tabled in Punjab Assembly.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, also sought reports within a month from the ECP and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government on the steps they have taken for holding LG elections in the province.
At the outset of the hearing, Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt submitted a report before the judges that the federal government has already issued two ordinances empowering the ECP to delimit constituencies for LG polls.
The ECP official said that despite our repeated reminders, these provinces never bothered to reply. “We sought material related to maps and delimitation of boundaries a pre-requisite to announce schedule for local government elections,” he said, adding, “So far the Punjab and the Sindh governments did not make any progress over our request.”
The official said that we are ready to hold elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and the commission would hold LG polls in K-P at the end of March or the first week of April 2015.
LG polls would not be possible in Sindh and Punjab for one more year because of non-cooperative conduct of relevant provincial authorities.
This week the ECP issued a reminder letter to the Punjab government regarding the local bodies elections.
According to details, the letter stated that information of delimitation has not been provided to the ECP, he said. “Elections can be deferred due to the negligence of provincial government in processing local bodies’ demarcation,” the official informed.
The commission has also urged the Punjab government to submit details of union councils and wards so that the ECP can analyse them for further procedure.
A bench of the Supreme Court is to take up this case on December 1 and the ECP would inform the court about this situation.
In one of its written replies to the Supreme Court this week on preparations for LG polls in Sindh and Punjab, the commission submitted that in light of the apex court orders the election staff is being trained to carry out electoral delimitation of union councils and wards in Sindh and Punjab.
ECP further said that the training process will conclude in the second week of January 2015.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2014.
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These crooks want to keep the local body affairs in their hands in order to loot the money meant for local development funds. Karachi is one example been looted mercilessly by waderas of Zardari party for seven years now
Those who claim to be the torch bearers of democracys are the ones depriving the nation of it the most. PPP's motive is clear in Sindh it doesn't want to handle the third tier of govt to people's representitve, and quite clearly MQM, who has a proven track record in LG System. Meanwhile PMLN in Punjab fear's PTI's backlash.
Hence, Pakistan is kept deprived of representation and futher development becuase the 2 % doesn't want the powers being transferred to local masses.
That's where Sharif and Zardari - the Champions of Democracy - lives and thrives!!
Another court room drama we are used to seeing every month. Try punishing a few officials for a change and see the ball rolling if you have the courage.