Grassroots Government: Local bodies elections unlikely this year

Only cantonment areas appear ready to meet this constitutional requirement.

ISLAMABAD:

With the September 15 deadline set by the Supreme Court for holding local government elections fast approaching, it is unlikely that the constitutionally required polls would be held this year.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) sources reveal that except for cantonment areas, where pre-requisite formalities like legal framework and delimitations are at final stages, local government elections cannot be held in the rest of the country unless respective provincial governments finalize the required legal framework.

While the Punjab and Sindh provincial governments have passed local government bills, they have still been unable to convince opposition parties to accept the legislation in its present form, leading to protests.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaaf (PTI) government is yet to unveil what it claims to be a model local government system. Similarly, in Balochistan, a local government set up is not in sight in the near future.

According to the constitution, federating units have to pass their respective local government laws, conduct delimitations and frame rules, before approaching the ECP to organise elections. Once these formalities complete, the ECP is required to hold polls within three months.

The country has been without local governments since 2009. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf had promulgated the Local Government Ordinance (LGO), 2001, under which a new system of local governments was introduced across the country replacing the 1979 local government system introduced by another military dictator, General Ziaul Haq.

Musharraf’s local government system had constitutional cover till 2009. Once it expired it was not extended and in the 18th constitutional amendment, local governments were made a provincial subject. Not ready to speak on record, ECP officials believe that different local government systems in different provinces will mean that elections process would be different. This, according to officials, will require a huge number of trained staff to conduct such polls and is likely to complicate litigation on legal issues in court.

Cantonment Elections

ECP officials have said that formalities for holding elections in cantonment areas are expected to be completed by end of this month, by which time the ECP can announce an election schedule immediately.

In a letter to Director General Military Lands and Cantonment Department, the ECP had notified districts and session judges as appellate authorities for cantonment areas across country to hear complaints regarding delimitations carried out recently. Residents were given 15 days to register complaints, while judges were told to decide these cases in another 15 days.

The first process of registering complaints has already been completed. Cantonments are military stationed areas, administered by Cantonment Boards. Cantonments are governed by pre-partition the Cantonments Act, 1924. There are a total of 43 cantonment areas, 20 in Punjab, eight in Sindh, 11 in KPK and four in Balochistan across the country.

According to data available with ECP, these 43 have a total of 1.8 million registered voters and would need a total of 15,613 polling personal to conduct local government elections. However, before going for this exercise the Cantonments Acts, 1924 would have to be amended by parliament or presidential ordinance.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2013.