Matter of political will
Apparently it is not just the election commission that is helpless in the matter of local government elections. The Supreme Court, too, taking up the implementation of its Mar20 judgement, had to (again) remind provincial governments that absence of LG elections for over nine years was against the constitution. And again it’s the Punjab and Sindh governments that are dragging their feet. It is not encouraging that they had not provided the election commission with necessary material for fresh delimitation till the SC hearing Thursday. And once again the EC cut a sorry figure, and again the provinces were blamed, and again the SC has restarted the exercise.
Punjab and Sindh have, of course, resorted to their usual tactics; promising to furnish the information “soon”, etc. Over time, stalling the matter has become a routine matter for them. But weren’t the parties ruling these provinces only recently out pretty loud about their commitment to democracy? Weren’t they willing to go the extra mile to ‘save democracy’? That they would show such disregard to one of the basic components of democracy – LG elections – speaks volumes.
Election commission officials say even smooth sailing all the way from here would barely complete the exercise inside the new year, which inspires little confidence. There is little to show that Punjab and Sindh have suddenly found the resolve to push the process through. There is too much in the way of legal challenges and operation problems to allow an easy ride in the best of times. But with political will lacking, it is more likely they will drag on into next year. That is where the Supreme Court again comes into play. Its judgements will become harsher to longer democrats are unable to deliver. Unless the latter are waiting for the military to complete this exercise, too, like all other important matters, they are advised to pull their socks up before things get completely out of control. They have already wasted a lot of time. If they don’t find the will now, it’s unlikely they will anytime soon.
