Ordinance 2013: ‘With no student unions, LG system only hope for democracy’

Politicians, civil society discusses changes to govt ordinance.

HARIPUR: Participants of a discussion held here on Friday stressed on the need for changes in the Local Government Ordinance (LGO) 2013.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member Advocate Gulnaz Rasheed said the bureaucracy still enjoys more power than elected representatives in the new local government mechanism, which goes against the devolution of power. She also criticised the proposal of indirect elections for district nazim and said this will lead to corruption.

The discussion was arranged as part of a democratic and civic rights education programme by Sahara Foundation.



But former union nazim Asif Ali Jan expressed his support for the ordinance. “This is the document that will empower people at the grass-roots level,” he said. He added the new law would not only confer powers to village councils administratively, but also financially. He, however, suggested that the accountability mechanism must be developed to incorporate a more proactive role of the civil society.

Sahara Foundation Executive Director Qamar Hayat welcomed the LGO 2013 and termed it ‘a ray of hope for rule of democracy in K-P’. He suggested that elections should be held on a party basis at all tiers, adding that since student and trade unions were already banned, the only institution left to help democracy mature is the local government system.

Hayat also criticised the role of the chief minister in suspending the district nazim. He said the LGO must be revised in a way that the district council should have the powers of unseating a nazim through a vote of no-confidence, rather than suspension by the CM.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2013.