Weakening the system: Karachi mayor may not be as independent as before

Amendments to the provincial local governments law has made it easier to bring a no-confidence motion

KARACHI:

After more than two years of being delayed, local body elections were finally held in Karachi recently and while the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) managed to stun the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) neither party has the majority required for the city’s mayor slot.

Much like every other election, the local body polls were marked with controversies as well but the PPP emerged as the winner with 93 seats, while the JI came in second with 86 seats; followed by the PTI, in third place, with 40 seats.

As things stand, either the PPP and JI either have to form an alliance with each other or with the PTI, to bring in a mayor of their choice. However, regardless of which alliance brings in a mayor, due to an amendment in the Sindh Local Government Act of 2013, which now requires only a simple majority to table a no-confidence motion, the mayor would not have any job security.

When the Act was first introduced, a two-thirds majority requirement to table a no-confidence motion was put in place by the provincial legislature so that the elected mayor would have stability and not fear that the provincial government or any other political party could terminate the mayorship at any time. Commenting on the amendment, JI leader, Saifuddin Advocate, said that such laws should be done away with immediately. “If the amendment remains a part of the Local Government Act, it means that the Sindh government would be able to blackmail any mayor, deputy mayor, and town chairman for their own gains by threatening them with a no-confidence motion,” remarked Saifuddin.

The JI leader was of the view that the two-thirds majority requirement was a wise step by the legislature as it would give the mayor and deputy mayor much needed autonomy and job security. “By amending that requirement to a simple majority, the PPP government has just weakened the entire system.” On the other hand, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Sindh, Waqar Mehdi, was of the view that there was no issue with the law at all.

“The law and subsequent amendments were passed with the consent of all stakeholders, therefore there is no flaw in it,” he opined. Mehdi also suggested that questions regarding any minute details about the law should be taken up with the Advisor to the Chief Minister Sindh on Law, Barrister Murtaza Wahab.

The Express Tribune contacted Wahab several times to get his thoughts on the amendment to the local governments law, which had the effect of taking away the mayor’s autonomy, but did not hear back from him. The Express Tribune also contacted the provincial Minister for Local Governments, Nasir Hussain Shah, and provincial Minister for Labour, Saeed Ghani, but did not hear back from them either.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2023.