Local government: NGO goes to court over delayed polls
Provincial government must hold elections as soon as an elected representative’s tenure finishes.
KARACHI:
An NGO has gone to court to press for local government elections, which it argues have been illegally delayed.
The Human Rights Commission for South Asia petitioned against the appointment of administrators and asked the Sindh High Court (SHC) to direct them to hold elections for local bodies immediately.
The petitioner claimed that under Section 186 (2) of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001, the provincial government must hold elections as soon as an elected representative’s tenure finishes.
By appointing city administrators, the government has violated Article 140 (A) and thus, their appointment is illegal. Only newly elected representatives can take over from the old ones.
Meanwhile, the government has been avoiding holding elections since 2010 by issuing ordinances to make up for the lapse of time, the petitioner submitted.
The NGO claimed that the general law and order situation in the province was relatively calm and thus elections could be held peacefully.
After the initial hearing on Thursday, the bench, comprising Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, ordered pre-admission notices to be issued to the chief election commissioner and local government secretary and Sindh advocate-general. Hearing was then adjourned till further notice.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2011.
An NGO has gone to court to press for local government elections, which it argues have been illegally delayed.
The Human Rights Commission for South Asia petitioned against the appointment of administrators and asked the Sindh High Court (SHC) to direct them to hold elections for local bodies immediately.
The petitioner claimed that under Section 186 (2) of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001, the provincial government must hold elections as soon as an elected representative’s tenure finishes.
By appointing city administrators, the government has violated Article 140 (A) and thus, their appointment is illegal. Only newly elected representatives can take over from the old ones.
Meanwhile, the government has been avoiding holding elections since 2010 by issuing ordinances to make up for the lapse of time, the petitioner submitted.
The NGO claimed that the general law and order situation in the province was relatively calm and thus elections could be held peacefully.
After the initial hearing on Thursday, the bench, comprising Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, ordered pre-admission notices to be issued to the chief election commissioner and local government secretary and Sindh advocate-general. Hearing was then adjourned till further notice.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2011.