LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to amend the Local Government Act 2022 before holding the local bodies’ elections while considering the option of using the electronic voting machine in the polls.

“The Punjab government was taking all possible measures to hold local bodies’ elections in Punjab at the earliest. We have all the intention of transferring the power to the real representatives of the people at the grassroots level,” Punjab Local Government and Community Development Minister Mian Mahmood-ur-Rashid said while chairing a meeting here on Wednesday.

He further said that after changing the previous local government law, it would conform to the vision of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan; a local government system will be established in the province in the true sense, under which local problems could be resolved by local representatives elected by the local community.

On this occasion, he directed the concerned officers to prepare the amendments to change the Local Government Act and submit the draft by next Monday. He further said that the proposed amendments would be first submitted to Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi and the PTI Chairman, and after their approval, the bill would be passed by the Punjab Assembly.

All efforts will be made to hold transparent elections under the electronic voting machine system,” he added. He believed that the imbalance in the ratio of general and reserved seats should be removed in the new law and directed the officials to remove all obstacles in the course of holding local bodies’ elections without delay by maintaining effective communication with the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022