IT is hardly news that the local government elections have again been postponed — this merry-go-round has been whirling for a long time. What is new, this time, is that we have not been told when these twice-postponed polls will be held. On Monday, the Supreme Court accepted the request of the Election Commission of Pakistan that the elections be delayed because it was not yet ready for the task. So the vote proposed for March 13 in Punjab and Feb 23 in Sindh has been put off — dates which the ECP itself had suggested on Jan 8, because of the “difficulties” involved. It is not clear why the ECP suggested fresh dates for vote, when surely it must have known by then that all arrangements were not in place. Now sources close to the election body have told this paper that the LG polls would not be possible for another six months.

Is anyone really interested in the local bodies’ elections, except the people of Pakistan? Worldwide, local government elections are considered of vital importance because they constitute the first rung of the democratic ladder. In fact, those elected to these bodies handle affairs which have a more direct relationship to the people’s daily life than those manning the elected fora at higher levels. Yet among the ironies of Pakistan’s traumatic history is that it is the military strongmen who have been quick to organise LG elections. Their motives were, of course, far from altruistic and democratic, for invariably they made these elected institutions serve as an electoral college to give legitimacy to their rule. That elected governments should be tardy on this score is a matter of shame. No LG elections were held during the last five years, and, again, the elected governments have been in the saddle for more than seven months, but the administrations of the two most populous provinces have shown no sincere desire to let the people choose their local representatives. In fact, the two resolutions passed unanimously by the National Assembly in November were a true reflection of our politicians’ view of LG elections when the lawmakers demanded the polls’ postponement and indirectly criticised the judiciary for its “stubbornness” because it insisted on the polls. The truth is our political governments fear the consequences of a vote that may not necessarily reflect the May 11 preferences.

The ECP must finally make sure that it doesn’t have to regret a new date. The printing of ballot papers is a major task, and in Sindh the issue has been further complicated by the tussle between the PPP and Muttahida over the delimitation of constituencies, with the high court setting aside the amendment to the Sindh LG law. And who do candidates in Punjab blame for spending some Rs6bn on an election that has yet to take place?