Amendments to the ICT Local Government Act 2015 by the government through a presidential ordinance issued on 15 October 2015 following a note initiated by Ministry of Interior and released Friday 27 November visibly stunned opposition parties. According to the ordinance, the number of deputy mayors has increased from one to three. The ordinance has also reduced the number of women's seats in the Metropolitan Corporation by almost 50 percent, while the eligibility criteria for mayor and deputy mayors have also been changed.
An official of the ECP told Business Recorder that it is the prerogative of the government to issue an ordinance or legislate; and the Commission cannot challenge amendments made through the presidential ordinance. "Our job is just to hold fair and free elections in the city," he said, adding that it is the job of the Ministry of Interior to make rules on elections of mayor and deputy mayors for the metropolitan corporation.
Leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have strongly objected to the amendments in the local government act and have vowed to raise the issue at all relevant for a, including National Assembly and Senate. PTI MNA Shireen Mazari said the government did not take her party into confidence before issuing the ordinance. "We will raise the issue in the National Assembly and Senate to register our protest on the amendments bound to benefit the ruling party," she said.
She said the government is in the habit of bulldozing the opposition but "the issuance of an ordinance to amend the local government act at the eleventh hour has raised many questions about transparency of the elections too." PPP Islamabad President Faisal Sakhi Butt said that his party may move the court against the amendments as the government has enforced its own version of the local government on residents of the city. "The government should have taken all parties into confidence before making any amendments in the local government act," he said.
According to data available with Business Recorder, the capital territory has been divided into 50 Union Councils and 640 polling stations have been set up at 326 buildings. The election commission has declared some 62 polling stations the most sensitive. At least 7,752 policemen including 3,720 personnel of Islamabad police would perform their duties on the polling day.
As many as 12,400 candidates are vying for seats of chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors. In the 2002 general elections, the turnout was 51 percent in Islamabad, 51.01 per cent in 2008, while slightly above 52 per cent in 2013. The various governments had allowed a public holiday on all these occasions.
Comments
Comments are closed.