Editorial

New LG system in Punjab

PTI commits itself to a strong public representative system at the grassroots level

Editorial May 02, 2019

Starting with Ayub Khan’s system of Basic Democracy, the local government system in Pakistan has been subjected to many experiments, but was never allowed to gain ground and to deliver. Ironically, the elected civilian governments, rotating between the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League, have never been comfortable with the idea of a functional representative local bodies system. Taking an exception to earlier civilian governments’ indifference towards local bodies system, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) committed itself to a strong public representative system at the grassroots level.

Having strengthened, empowered and implemented a functional local government system in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI has introduced a new local government system in Punjab. The new law — introducing a two-tier system through Punjab Local Government Bill, 2019 and Punjab Villages Panchayats and Neighbourhood Councils Bill, 2019 — was passed by the provincial assembly on Tuesday. The Opposition MPAs mostly belonging to the PML-N boycotted the voting complaining that the amendments they had proposed were not taken into considerations.

Notwithstanding the grievances of the Opposition, the new law is definitely an improvement upon the existing local government system empowering the representative institutions to deliver the municipal and other services at the grassroots level more effectively. With a two-tier system for urban and rural areas, the new law provides that the elections for village and mohalla councils would be held on non-party basis while at tehsil and municipal level on party basis.

The existing local government system will be wrapped up soon after the Governor gives assent to both the bills and they are notified as acts. But the elections to local bodies under the new system would be held within a year after the passage of the law. However, the lawmakers belonging to the Treasury and the Opposition stood united while agreeing to do away with conditions of educational qualification for elected representatives, and to reduce the term of local bodies from five years to four.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2019.

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