Punjab Local Government Act: Speakers for reforms to ensure transparent LG polls

The participants of the 'Forum on Local Elections Framework in Punjab' said the electoral provisions of the Punjab Local Government Act need significant reforms to ensure inclusive and transparent elections. The forum was arranged by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) on Tuesday as part of its European Union funded project 'Supporting Advocacy for Electoral Reforms in Pakistan'.
Over 60 representatives of major political parties, including 14 members of provincial Assembly, civil society, the media and the ECP attended the forum. The speakers also demanded a proactive role by the provincial Assembly regarding the framework for holding local government elections.
Among the major concerns highlighted by the participants were the unequal and non-transparent delimitation of wards and councils, conducted without appropriate data, the inadequate representation of women, barriers in participation of minorities as well as unclear electoral mechanisms on polling procedures, results and dispute resolutions. During the event, the participants also stressed the need for timely and comprehensive reform before elections were called.
Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodul Rashid highlighted that the law contained significant flaws, which need to be addressed to ensure local government system is introduced according to wishes of people and in line with true spirit of the Constitution. "Frequent changes in the law without parliamentary discussions should be avoided and instead government should call a session of the Punjab Assembly to conduct comprehensive review and introduce amendments through parliamentary procedure" he added.
A member of the Special Committee of the Punjab Assembly on Local Government Saba Sadiq stated the law was open to amendments and reforms, as it was passed in very short-time.
She stressed that the Punjab Assembly would soon call a session to discuss further amendments to improve the electoral framework for local government elections. Commenting on the inadequate number of seats for women in the local councils, she urged the political parties to encourage and support women to contest on general seats.
Director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Hussain Naqi mentioned that the law should have been debated in the public domain, so that various stakeholders, including civil society, could benefit from the inputs. "Significant concerns related to minorities electoral rights, including a separate electoral roll for Ahmedis, remain unaddressed as was the case during general elections" he added.
Chairperson of the Free and Fair Elections Network (Fafen) Muhammad Zahid Islam said one of the many discrepancies in the local government framework was assigning the role of delimitation officer and returning officer to state employees. "The conduct of elections should be ruled by a separate law," he said. Presenting the DRI's recommendations found in its assessment of the Punjab Local Elections Framework, election expert Hassan Nasir explained how Punjab's electoral framework falls short to fulfil Pakistan's commitments, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), amongst other international obligations.
"The current law should define a number of fundamental issues in greater detail, including improved transparency of electoral process, a clear electoral system, transparent polling and counting procedures and effective dispute resolution mechanisms," he said.
During the discussions, other participants highlighted that the law does not provide for consistent and adequate representation of women in the local councils. They called for an increase in the number of women representatives at all levels to 33 per cent, regardless of the size of the council. They also called for providing gender desegregated data on the voter turn-out so that it could be determined whether women were barred from voting. Other speakers of the forum included MPAs Ayesha Javed, Suraya Nasim, Raheela Khadim, Tariq Rizvi, Shamim Akhtar, Waqas Mokal, Sadia Suhail and Shunila Tariq Ruth.