Tug of war: NA body asks for deferring LB polls

ECP concurs, saying printing of 300 million ballot papers by Jan 30 impossible.

ISLAMABAD:

The meeting between Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) passed recommendations to hold the local bodies’ elections in Punjab and Sindh in March 2014.

Standing committee chairman Mian Manan said that the National Assembly has already passed a resolution to hold elections in March next year. “We are part of National Assembly, how can we distance ourselves from the resolution,” Manan said.

The ECP authorities also agreed with the recommendations of the committee. Additional secretary ECP briefed the meeting regarding upcoming local bodies’ elections in Punjab and Sindh.

Briefing the meeting, ECP representatives took the stance that printing of 300 million ballot papers by January 30 was impossible, meanwhile the hearing of four thousand appeals against the delimitations are also underway.

It was also confirmed by the additional secretary ECP that if provinces submit their request in the Supreme Court for delay of upcoming polls‚ the ECP will endorse their point of view.

Upon this, chairman of the standing committee said that the local bodies’ elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa should also be held in coordination with Punjab and Sindh after making complete preparation. He said the provincial governments should move SC to seek more time.



Four million biometric devices were needed for the electioneering process and it was unclear who would provide the funds for this purpose, the committee asked. In November NA had unanimously passed a resolution, calling for postponement of local bodies elections.

The resolution was presented by Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian’s Naveed Qamar.  The lawmakers through the resolution had suggested that new dates should be announced for the polls.

The SC has been exerting pressure on the government vis-a-vis local government elections. On Tuesday SC indicted Defence Secretary Asif Yasin Malik for contempt of court because he failed to hold elections in the cantonment areas. The court also gave the government a seven-day deadline to set dates for the polls.

Elections troubles

These elections would be the first since the local system was devolved to the provinces themselves. Previously, the provinces were functioning under a federally-constructed system.

While the delays on the part of the ECP are technical, the real setbacks have come due to the lack of rules and regulations. 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’s 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. In Sindh, where PPP is in power, it is facing its local government act challenged by the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The PTI, in power in K-P, also faces a threat of seeing its recently-passed bill taken to court.


Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2013.