Most of the major political parties of the country are either silent on the specific details of the local bodies system in their respective manifestos or have only referred to the basic democratic system, but none of them have a future plan of action on how they would ensure the devolution of powers to grassroots.
A thorough study of the manifestos reveals that the so-called democrats are not concerned with basic democracy and are continuously violating their own manifestos by not holding local bodies elections for the last three years, which is mandatory according to the country’s constitution.
Although leaders of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the largest opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMNL-N), have made tall claims time and again about implementing the Charter of Democracy (CoD) – the agreement slain PPP chairwoman Benazir Bhutto and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had signed in exile in London on May 14, 2006 – both parties have violated Clauses 29 and 30 of the document, which deals with local bodies elections.
The CoD states that local bodies elections should be held within three months of the general elections and the election authority concerned should suspend and appoint neutral administrators for all local bodies from the date of formation of a caretaker government to hold general elections till the elections are held.
However, despite the passage of almost three and a half years after the general elections, neither the PPP nor the PML-N has held local bodies polls in any of the provinces they are governing.
Most interestingly, the PML-Quaid and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) – the two parties that have repeatedly staked their claim on introducing the local government system – now look open to changes to the system or completely throwing it out. Their attitude all but conclusively proves that the local government system was a brainchild of former president Pervez Musharraf. The PPP, PML-Q and MQM have mentioned the local bodies system in their manifestos in bits and pieces, but lack any clear details on the subject, while the manifestos of the PML-N, Awami National Party (ANP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) fail to even mention it.
PML-N Information Secretary Ahsen Iqbal told Pakistan Today his party strongly supported the local bodies system, which provided basic democracy to the people at the grassroots.
“We are open to holding local bodies polls. For the past three years, the polls could not be held as there was no provincial election commission after the 18th Constitutional Amendment and the new Election Commission has only been formed now,” said Iqbal.
When asked why his party was against Musharraf’s local government system, which was a modern system of decentralisation of power and was acclaimed across the globe, Iqbal said all the stakeholders were opposed to it because it had many flaws.
PML-Q Information Secretary Kamil Ali Agha said his party wanted continuation of the local government system it had introduced, which was largely acclaimed and supported by the people. However, Agha expressed flexibility in his stance, saying the PML-Q would even welcome the reintroduction of the old local bodies system as local bodies were a must for the welfare of the people at the grassroots.
MQM Spokesman Wasay Jalil said his party strongly believed in the system of decentralisation of power introduced by Musharraf in 2001. “However, just to address the points raised by certain parties, we want to give magisterial powers to the DDO (R) to ensure proper price checks. We want to improve the system but could not do so as there was constitutional cover till year 2010. We want to rid the country of experiments and take it to the people’s rule,” he said. Laiq Mohammed Khan of the JUI-F said his party fully backed the local government system introduced by Musharraf. “I am a product of the successful local government system introduced by General Musharraf. I was elected the Uggi Tehsil nazim twice and later I was elected to the National Assembly. This is just due to the services I gave to the development of my people and the area I belong to,” he said. No leader of the ANP was available for comment.
