On the backburner: Opposition parties accuse PTI-led government of delaying LG polls

Claim it has pulled a fast one by pinning the responsibility on the ECP.

PESHAWAR: Opposition parties of the province have termed the announcement of the coalition government regarding local government (LG) elections as a ‘drama’ to deceive the public. They claim the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been making contradictory claims regarding LG polls as a delaying tactic and have now put all the eggs in the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) basket.

Last year, while addressing journalists before the May general elections, PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced that his party will hold the LG elections within 90 days after coming into power. Several political leaders of the province claim more than 60 union council (UC) nazims and counselors joined PTI for political mileage after this announcement.



However, eight months after holding the reins of K-P, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan said in January that the provincial government would announce its plans for holding LG polls in the next three days.

Khan had said he forwarded a summary to Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to allow them to hold LG polls, adding that carrying out the process is the responsibility of the election commission. That announcement did not come in the next three days as promised.

Khattak also said at the start of this month that all preparations, including delimitation, have been completed for the local body polls and April 30 had been proposed as the date to hold elections to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Political analysts believe the provincial government has pulled a fast one by putting the ball in ECP’s court as the commission cannot complete the arrangements for holding polls in a few weeks and claims it needs several months to do so. The PTI-led government has also asked for a biometric system of voting.

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain maintained there were flaws in the biometric system and it would not be suitable for remote districts. “It is a waste of time and money,” said Hussain. He said when the biometric system was tested last year several flaws and loopholes were discovered which need to be plugged before it can be used for polling purposes.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) provincial president Pir Sabir Shah told The Express Tribune the PTI has failed to deliver on its promise of good governance. Shah alleged the party blackmailed people in the name of ‘change’. “The PTI-led government is yet to fulfill a single promise since taking over K-P.”



The provincial chief of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Khanzada Khan, said the provincial government was not prepared for holding the local body elections and were shifting the blame to the ECP. He claimed PTI was not serious in providing relief to the people at the grassroots level.

However, PTI MNA from Swat, Murad Saeed, told The Express Tribune the party has formulated a new LG system. “In light of the Supreme Court’s directives, the provincial government is fully prepared to hold the polls at any date fixed by ECP,” he said, without giving any further details.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has directed the provincial governments and ECP to ensure that LG polls are held in K-P, Sindh and Punjab before November 15.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2014.