LG polls — another delay

Punjab and Sindh simply do not want power to devolve down to the people

It seems that the provinces of Punjab and Sindh are determined to deny people the legal right to vote in their representatives at the local level. The two provincial governments have reportedly played an instrumental role in the further delay of the local government (LG) polls announced by the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP), with the first phase of the process as announced is now to begin on October 31. Only days ago, the ECP had notified October 12 as the date for the first round of polling and also released a full schedule for applications, scrutiny, withdrawals and appeals.

The polls, as we all know, have already been delayed for years. Through much of this period, the Supreme Court has been making an effort to force the ECP and the provincial authorities concerned to move on with the polling process. It is clear that Punjab and Sindh are particularly reluctant to do so. They simply do not want power to devolve down to the people, perhaps because this, in some ways, dilutes the power of the MNAs and MPAs in their constituencies. The reasons put forward by the provinces certainly seemed to hold little validity. They have cited flooding and administrative issues as the reasons for seeking a period of another two weeks or so to get the balloting process underway. The reality, however, is that the districts where polls are to be held in the first round have not been seriously affected by floods in both provinces. This indicates that provincial governments, and especially the ruling parties, are still not willing to accept the idea of power lying at the grassroots level, even though this fulfills a basic democratic condition. The Constitution is being violated through the long delay in the polls and as the Supreme Court has repeatedly pointed out, this is not something that should be overlooked or ignored. If polls could go ahead in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, there is no reason why they cannot be managed in Punjab and Sindh. It is time to stop making excuses.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th,  2015.

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