Speakers at a seminar on Thursday said that the local government system needed constitutional protection to become more effective, efficient and produce sustainable results.
Article 140-A of the Constitution has provided adequate constitutional, political, administrative and economic provisions for how local government elections are to be held, but lack of proper mechanism for devolving the power to local governments created a major hurdle in its implementation, they observed.
The seminar was organised by AAWAZ programme consortium partners, including Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), Aurat Foundation, Sungi and South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-KPK).
JUI-F National Assembly Member and Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform Member, Naeema Kishwar speaking on the occasion said that the committee had proposed 145 days for re-election of the local government.
The committee was also working on other concerns like the number of polling stations and proposed that polling stations be setup after every kilometre, she added.
She further informed that the committee also proposed training of polling agents and political workers.
The sub-committee of the Committee on Electoral Reforms, she added, would put these recommendations on National Assembly’s website soon.
Senator Aneesa Zaib Tahir-kheli commented that elections on specific seats should be held directly to ensure the right of voters to choose representatives directly with their own will.
Centre for Civic Education Chief, Zafar ullah Khan, demanded that local government elections be held directly on special seats as was done in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Senator Farhat Ullah Babar said that the devolution of power was necessary now to serve the interests of the common people.
“Consistence efforts are required to make amendments in the Constitution,” he commented.
KP Provincial Assembly Member, Maliha Khan, lauded the local government system as being the basic unit of the democracy and opined that the democratic process would remain incomplete if it were not strengthened.
