EDITORIAL: Our governing politicians are unwilling to embrace the idea of devolution of power to the grassroots. Local governments (LGs) elections in the largest province of Punjab were last held in 2017 upon the apex court’s repeated directives, but the renewal process has remained stalemated since those LGs’ term ended in 2022. During the recent years, the other three provinces have conducted polls to this third tier of governance, but without handing them essential administrative powers and financial autonomy. And the fate of LGs in the Islamabad capital territory continues to hang in the balance since February 2021 when the previous local bodies completed their term.
Notably, the last elections were won by the then ruling party, the PML-N, by a significant margin. Consequently, its candidate became the first mayor of Islamabad. Yet the federal government having little interest in delivering efficient services to people at the grassroots did not bother to provide its mayor with necessary funds or to finalise the required rules for infrastructure development. Later, the PTI government treated the Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad with similar indifference.
The present ruling alliance’s reluctance to go for fresh elections may be attributable to an apprehension of losing to its rival opposition party, whose popularity graph is believed to have risen substantially. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also appears to be acting as a facilitator. In the last four years, it has issued several schedules for the polls, only to cancel them on one pretext or the other. Under the previous PDM government, it had announced elections for 50 union councils (UCs) but postponed them after the UCs number was increased to 101. Before August 20 polling schedule the present ruling alliance raised that number to 125. Later, it made yet another change, upping the number of seats in the UCs from six to nine, followed by an amendment to the Local Governments Act. Thus far, the ECP’s deferment decisions could be understandable. But then on August 20 of this year, it extended the polling date from September 29 to October 9, this time acknowledging that it was acceding to the request of local politicians — belonging to the ruling PML-N, of course. And the next month, it issued a notification holding the electoral exercise “in abeyance” till further orders. Now, as per its latest order announced this past Tuesday, delimitation of constituencies and wards is to start from December 21 onwards. That work followed by other procedural requirements is to be completed and final lists of constituencies/wards published on March 12.
However, a fresh and firm date for elections stays elusive. Meanwhile, all signs suggest the ruling alliance is unprepared to take the risk of going for the electoral exercise. And considering its track record the ECP is likely to take advantage of the ambiguity in the relevant law regarding timelines for specific procedures and schedule to keep delaying the LG polls for the foreseeable future. As with the wider national scene, those in positions of power will have no qualms about delivering politics of disappointment to voters in Islamabad.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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