Murky waters: Bending one law to uphold another
ECP's plan to increase population level in UCs and wards goes against Sindh Local Government Act
Election Commission of Pakistan. PHOTO ECP.GOV.PK
HYDERABAD:
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has found a way to implement the Sindh High Court's order regarding the resolution of the "patent irregularities" in the delimitation of local government constituencies. However, the only complication is likely to be a mild violation of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013.
"The only way to restore the pre-March 2014 status of the disputed constituencies may entail allowing the population level in a given union council or ward to exceed the highest or lowest limits against what has been prescribed in the Act," a senior ECP official based in Islamabad, who requested anonymity told The Express Tribune.
The official, however, acknowledged that such a move could also be challenged by any individual in a court of law on the basis of the Act. On the other hand, he appeared confident that the election process would not be disrupted.
The Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2013, has set the population limit of the union committee and the union council between 10,000 to 15,000, a municipal committee's ward between 4,000 to 5,000 and a town committee's ward between 2,000 to 3,000.
The SHC, on September 18, ordered the ECP to undo the inclusion of any rural area in an urban one and vice versa that has been done after the Supreme Court's March, 20, 2014, order. The ECP may also have to move a whole constituency, but this will not require the submission of fresh nomination forms. The forms accepted in a changed constituency will be processed for the elections, the official explained. The LG elections, being conducted in three separate phases in Sindh, have been announced and the polling process will be held in the month of November. The process of the submission of nomination forms has been completed in Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah divisions.
A senior official of the district administration in Hyderabad said that dozens of areas in Hyderabad were moved from rural to urban and vice versa over the last year. "The legal way of changing the status of a rural area into an urban area requires issuing a public notice to the local people and holding a public hearing to seek their approval before issuing the notification," the official said, adding that this was not followed.
Revision Process
The ECP has given the task of revising the disputed constituencies to the district-based delimitation officers (DO), who are also the district election commissioners. They will complete the exercise with the help of the assistant DOs and the assistant commissioners, the official said. The DOs will submit their recommendations to a committee headed by the provincial election commissioner.
The committee will review the changes and, after approval, it will forward them to the ECP so that the latter can notify the new constituency by Thursday.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Hyderabad regional ECP convened on Sunday night decided to recommend to the ECP in Islamabad that the SHC order cannot be implemented and that the provincial government should be ordered to undo the rural to urban conversions.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2015.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has found a way to implement the Sindh High Court's order regarding the resolution of the "patent irregularities" in the delimitation of local government constituencies. However, the only complication is likely to be a mild violation of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013.
"The only way to restore the pre-March 2014 status of the disputed constituencies may entail allowing the population level in a given union council or ward to exceed the highest or lowest limits against what has been prescribed in the Act," a senior ECP official based in Islamabad, who requested anonymity told The Express Tribune.
The official, however, acknowledged that such a move could also be challenged by any individual in a court of law on the basis of the Act. On the other hand, he appeared confident that the election process would not be disrupted.
The Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2013, has set the population limit of the union committee and the union council between 10,000 to 15,000, a municipal committee's ward between 4,000 to 5,000 and a town committee's ward between 2,000 to 3,000.
The SHC, on September 18, ordered the ECP to undo the inclusion of any rural area in an urban one and vice versa that has been done after the Supreme Court's March, 20, 2014, order. The ECP may also have to move a whole constituency, but this will not require the submission of fresh nomination forms. The forms accepted in a changed constituency will be processed for the elections, the official explained. The LG elections, being conducted in three separate phases in Sindh, have been announced and the polling process will be held in the month of November. The process of the submission of nomination forms has been completed in Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah divisions.
A senior official of the district administration in Hyderabad said that dozens of areas in Hyderabad were moved from rural to urban and vice versa over the last year. "The legal way of changing the status of a rural area into an urban area requires issuing a public notice to the local people and holding a public hearing to seek their approval before issuing the notification," the official said, adding that this was not followed.
Revision Process
The ECP has given the task of revising the disputed constituencies to the district-based delimitation officers (DO), who are also the district election commissioners. They will complete the exercise with the help of the assistant DOs and the assistant commissioners, the official said. The DOs will submit their recommendations to a committee headed by the provincial election commissioner.
The committee will review the changes and, after approval, it will forward them to the ECP so that the latter can notify the new constituency by Thursday.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Hyderabad regional ECP convened on Sunday night decided to recommend to the ECP in Islamabad that the SHC order cannot be implemented and that the provincial government should be ordered to undo the rural to urban conversions.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2015.