Women ex-councillors call for local govt polls
Local government is the third tier of governance but the first tier of democracy that is incomplete without appropriate and meaningful representation of women, so the Punjab government should hold the elections of the grassroots institutions in the province without further delay.
These views were expressed by the speakers at a provincial conference of the Punjab Local Govt Act and women representation on Tuesday. A large number of women ex-councillors and local bodies’ members from different districts, including Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura, Okara, Kasur, Khanewal and Lahore attended the conference organised by the Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) on Tuesday.
The speakers said local govts had been absent from the province for the past three years and the bureaucracy was running the show. The LG elections in the three other provinces have been, or are about to, be completed.
Provincial Local Govt Additional Secretary Arshad Baig agreed to a proposal for constitutional protection for the sustainability of the LG system.
He expressed hope the local government polls would be held by April as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
ECP representative Huma Safdar said the delimitation had been started from December 9. This is the third exercise in three years on account of as many different laws introduced by the PTI and PML-N governments.
The ECP is making all-out efforts to reduce gender gap in the electoral rolls from 31% in 2013 to 7% in 2022, she said.
Local government expert Zahid Islam said the newly introduced Punjab Local Govt Act 2022 had pros and cons, but the important thing was sustainability and continuity of the system, which was hostage amid a tug of war between two major political parties.
Punjab is the only province where the election process is yet to begin. Even Azad Jammu and Kashmir has successfully completed the LG elections after 31 years, he added.
WISE Executive Director Bushra Khaliq stressed that the elections should be held as per schedule in April.
The ratio of women’s representation in the metropolitan, municipal, Tehsil and other councils has been decreasing with the passage of time, she complained, demanding at least 33% representation at all tiers.
Institute for Democratic Education and Advocacy (IDEA) Executive Director Salman Abid said constitutional protection of the local governments in provinces was a must.
Several women ex-councilors said their political participation was taken for granted by the political parties.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2022.