Local body elections

EDITORIAL: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s decision to hold local body elections in the province on September 15 is welcomed as a very important step in the right direction, even if it has taken its sweet time coming. Indeed, it is not very inspiring that the Supreme Court had to come down pretty hard on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) just the other day and remind it that by delaying local body elections for no plausible reason it was “creating hurdles in the constitution’s implementation” and flirting with contempt of court as well as high treason. Still, the fact that the ball has got rolling ought to be appreciated and other provinces will hopefully fall in line soon enough.

Elected leaders should not need to be reminded of the importance of devolving power to local governments. Not only is it the most effective way of strengthening democracy and empowering people, it can also bring great political dividends. Once people have a direct say in running their own affairs all the way down to the grass-root, they naturally feel a sense of obligation towards the government that got them this power and tend to reward them at the polls. Plus there’s a good reason that it’s considered the most important tier of government. Parliamentary democracy can be only so representative in high-population countries like Pakistan, where each constituency comprises millions of people, unless local bodies work alongside provincial and central governments.

Everybody knows that our usual lot of political leaders has tended to shy away from fulfilling responsibilities like ensuring devolution of power because of fear of dilution of their own influence and resources. But for a party that came to power on the promise of change, of which empowering local governments was a very central part, this trend should change and it’s already something of a concern that this subject hasn’t received the attention it deserves in the first half of this administration. Surely, it would have worked to everybody’s advantage, especially the people, if this issue had been addressed before the onset of the pandemic. Local governments would have provided quick information about worst affected areas, helped enforce timely smart lockdowns, and proved critical in coordinating with the federal government’s policymaking processes.

The prime minister, more than any other in Pakistan’s history, ought to have been quicker off the mark on this issue, not the least because he had filled everybody’s brains about how his government would finally unleash the true potential and power of true transfer of power to local bodies. No such thing has happened so far. Instead, even the normal course of parliamentary politics hasn’t really been followed and the prime minister’s rare appearances in parliament make for ‘breaking news’ on primetime television. Now the countdown is on for September for KP to lead the way in holding timely and transparent local body elections.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021