The NWFP Assembly on Wednesday passed a unanimous resolution demanding of the federal government to ask Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the upcoming local bodies polls on the electoral list of 2002 to ensure larger participation in it.
MPA Syed Murid Kazim of PPP-Sherpao tabled the joint resolution of the opposition and treasury benches after Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan suspended the rules enabling the mover to read out its contents.
The matter was earlier raised through a point of order by the PPP-Sherpao MPA from DI Khan, who diverted the attention of the house towards a notification of the Election Commission for holding upcoming local bodies polls on the voter lists of the previous LG elections of 2001.
He said that the holding of the coming LG polls would deprive 45 percent voters enrolled on the voter lists in 2002, adding the holding of the polls on the old lists would be tantamount to deprive millions new voters from their constitutional and legal right.
Abdul Akbar Khan of PPPP, while supporting the contentions of Murid Kazim said that in the local bodies elections of 2001, the youth with 25 years age were eligible to vote while in the elections of 2002, the age for casting vote was brought down to 18 years, which is also a part of the Legal Framework Order (LFO).
He was of the views that in case of holding elections on the voters list of 2002, and then the voters of the electoral lists of 2001 would be deprived of their right to franchise. He called for up-gradation of the electoral list.
Nadir Shah of MMA supporting Abdul Akbar Khan, termed the holding of LG polls on the electoral lists of 2001 a cruelty with the voters. He called for the inclusion of the electoral lists of the 2001 with the lists of 2002 to enable maximum people to use their right to franchise.
Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, Khalil Abbas Khattak, Syed Qulb-e-Hassan and Murid Kazim diverted the attention of the house towards the abolition of Towns and establishment of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) in their districts.
Replying the point of orders regarding the local government affairs, provincial Local Government and Rural Development Minister Sardar Mohammad Idrees said that the decision has been taken as per Local Government Ordinance, which allow the provincial government to take any such decision.
In response to a query of Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani of PML(Q), the minister informed the house that the provincial government wants to declare Abbottabad, a City District and for this purpose the matter has been raised with the Ministry of Law. The objective behind the declaration of Abbottabad as City District is to resolve the problems of the residents in a better manner than the existing one, he added.
Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) questioned the submission of affidavit regarding having no political affiliations with any political party, saying that political affiliations are necessary for any kind of elections.
He urged the provincial government to take up the matter of the affidavit with the Election Commission, saying speaking of lie in the initial stage of the system would not be a good omen for the local government system.
Earlier, during the question-hour, NWFP Information Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai assured the house that the provincial government would look into the payment of interest by a construction company.
Later, the Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan adjourned the proceedings of the house till Thursday 9:30 am.
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