The National Assembly of Pakistan. PHOTO: APP
The resolution was presented by Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentarian Naveed Qamar.
The lawmakers – through the resolution – have suggested that new dates should be announced for the polls.
Schedule
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) schedule, local bodies poll will be held on November 27 in Sindh and December 7 in Punjab and Balochistan.
The date for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has still not been announced.
The Supreme Court has been exerting pressure on the government vis-a-vis local bodies elections and on Tuesday had indicted Defence Secretary Asif Yasin Malik for contempt of court because he failed to hold local bodies election in the cantonment areas. The court had also given the government a seven-day deadline to set dates for the polls.
Elections
These elections would be the first since the local system was devolved to the provinces themselves. Previously, the provinces were functioning under a central federally-constructed system.
While the delays on the part of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) are technical, the real setbacks have come due to the lack of laws and rules. While Punjab had passed its local government bill, it is yet to act on fresh delimitations – a crucial exercise for the polls. Sindh, too, is in a similar position – except the provincial government still continues to tweak its laws. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has recently passed its local government bill.
Political rivalries have also played their part in hamstringing efforts to put in place local government systems: the Punjab system, put in place by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has been challenged by opposition parties Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). In Sindh, the PPP is in power, and has also had its local government act challenged by the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). The PTI, in power in K-P, also faces a threat of seeing its recently-passed bill taken to court.
COMMENTS (6)
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They dragged their feet for 5 years to delay LB polls. The only hope people had were in their LB representatives. And they never bother to visit their constituents to see the garbage, sewerage and ruined roads. They want the development funds for themselves, which would have been available to the Local Bodies.
i dont think PMLN will go for elections anytime soon with 3 months of no natural gas in punjab
Pmln failed to conduct local bodies elections for last 5 years when in power in the province. They don't want devolution of power.
To protect their vested interests these politicians would be on the same page to deny ordinary people their legal and constitutional rights. Not a good example of unanimous understanding, rather it should have come on major national issues.