Delay in local government elections

With so much happening in the country — the TLP’s anti-government protest; opposition’s countrywide demonstrations against price hike; delayed issuance of the notification on a key appointment; and Pakistan’s unbeaten run in the ICC T20 World Cup — the undue delay in local bodies elections is one important subject that continues to get neglected in media debates.

It’s already much debated that before the 2018 general elections in the country, the PTI had pledged to ensure smooth governance by empowering local bodies. The PTI’s manifesto clearly reads, “We will transform Pakistan by devolving power and decision-making to the people through an empowered local government.”

It’s been three years since the PTI government had assumed power. But the question at hand is not about ‘empowered local bodies’ but about the very existence of any such local bodies. Where is the local government system that the PTI used to put much emphasis on? While the PTI leads the government in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces, it is part of the ruling coalition in Balochistan. Despite the local governments having completed their terms in these provinces, no fresh elections have so far been held. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the PTI is only weeks away from completing its first year in government, but none of its officials has talked about holding local government elections in the region.

That local governments are crucial in delivering good governance merits no debate. Local bodies perform two main functions. Firstly, they serve the administrative purpose of delivering public services and goods. Secondly, they represent and involve local citizens in determining their local needs and deliberate on viable solutions at the local level. Moreover, local governments, being representative in nature, connects administration and representation, thereby creating conducive environment which encourages formulation of pro-poor policies at the grassroots level.

By delaying local government elections, provincial governments are harming the process of good governance and development. This results in unfair and inappropriate spending of national wealth on projects which are not in line with local needs. By doing so, the provincial governments lose their own credibility.

The federal government is already facing mass criticism because of the unbearable price hike. The government, therefore, cannot afford to further delay the local government elections. The government at the Centre and in provinces need to rethink their political strategy. In most of the cases, the local government elections get delayed because of political disagreements. It is because every party has its own political interest. For instance, a party in the government may want to delay local elections till a time they could be utilised for support at the grassroots level in the next general elections. Such politics does not benefit the masses. It is sheer misuse of political mandate.

Rather than keeping their political interests in front of everything else, the governments — being the representatives of the people — must focus on ending political disagreements and removing bottlenecks as regards the holding of local bodies elections. Otherwise, good governance will remain a pipedream. Though every political party has a stated objective of delivering good governance, without a proper local government system in place, this goal can never be achieved.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2021.

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