ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: The representatives of various civil society organizations (CSOs) have opposed the plan to replace district nazims with the administrators for the forthcoming local government elections as proposed by the provincial governments, and vowed to resist the move with full force.

Speaking at a news briefing here on Monday, the representatives of the CSOs also rejected the proposed amendments to the Local Government Ordinance and termed it "anti-people and anti-women."

The briefing was attended by representatives of Pattan Development Organization, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Action Aid Pakistan, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Sungi, Sachet, Bedari, Sach, Aurat Foundation, Islamabad Rozgar Mahaz and Potohar Organization for Development and Advocacy.

Rejecting the demand by chief ministers for the appointment of administrators in place of nazims, they said the move would not only be against the provisions of the Local Government Ordinance, but it would also lead to rigging and compromising the credibility of local government institutions.

The coordinator for Pattan Development Organization, Sarwar Bari, talked about the negative impact of the proposed changes to the LG ordinance and appointment of administrators on the devolution plan with the help of slides.

"We reject the reduction in the number of union council (UC) seats from 21 to 13 as well as merger of UCs," he said. Mr Bari said with the reduction in the number of seats, power would concentrate in the hands of a few elite, strengthening traditional power blocks comprising families and feudals.

Religious extremists and civil bureaucracy, who had been opposed to the devolution of power to the masses, would have a sense of victory after these changes, he added.

He was of the opinion that the changes, if made, would reduce the chances of the marginalized communities to contest the local government elections, erode their capacity to raise their concerns in the decision-making processes and enable the local elite to capture an institution designed to include the masses.

"We take a strong exception to the process that the National Reconstruction Bureau had adopted to finalize these amendments, keeping it exclusive and non-participatory.

The involvement of only provincial chief ministers and bureaucracy in finalizing these amendments compromises the very objective of the decentralization scheme that sought to empower the most marginalized groups in the society," Mr Bari said.

The CSOs representatives demanded that the number of seats in the UCs should be increased to devolve power in the true sense instead of reducing it. They also called for rationalizing the size of UCs in accordance with the population density and area.

Giving an example, they said, the number of UCs in Faisalabad was 289, while it was 150 in Lahore. Replying to questions, they said the CSOs would apprise the political parties on the issue.