Get to the task, please
It is ironic that the only efforts made to implement a local bodies government system in Pakistan were made by the dictators, not the democratically elected governments. Presently, we don’t have any local governments in any of the province. However, the Supreme Court had earlier intervened and ordered the same to be established, following which the Election Commission of Pakistan, the government and political parties have announced to hold local bodies elections in the coming months.
But the political parties, both in power and without it, have differences on the issue. Two of the provinces, Punjab and KP, are almost ready to hold LG polls while the other two, Sindh and Balochistan, have yet to announce their intentions. Considering that Balochistan is in turmoil and under constant attacks by terrorists, one can understand as to why it has not yet been able to form a new LG system. The situation in Sindh is however more of a political stand-off. The PPP seems unwilling to hold elections even though, MQM, the second largest party in Sindh, wants them to be held as soon as possible. One may though hope that they would be able to resolve their disagreements. The real issue is however something else, something that has been in the spotlight ever since we had our first LG polls. It is whether the elections would be held on party basis or non-party basis. This makes quite the difference. KP and Sindh have decided to hold elections on party basis while Punjab has decided to go ahead with non-party basis, and Balochistan is yet undecided.
Another important issue was that of federal government’s unnecessary intervention in a subject that is the purview of the provincial governments. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly approved the draft of the new LG system in Punjab, something to which the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly protested, as the draft was never presented in the assembly and no opposition leader could get a look at it. Moreover, approving it was the prerogative of the provincial assembly. This sheer disregard of parliamentary protocols is what has made the PML-N a subject of criticism. This and that the N League is unwilling to hold elections on party basis are what the major stumbling blocks in making it a true representative democracy.
With KP announcing October as the month in which they are going to hold elections, it is time the other provinces also got serious in following the suit. These elections are important as they will determine how well the democracy has established in the country.