LAHORE: The holding of local polls in Punjab as per schedule has become close to impossible as the provincial government could not give a final shape to the law meant for governing the third tier of government.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), after consultation with the Punjab government, had announced on Feb 16 that the first phase of polls in the province would be held on May 29. The ECP had been stressing on the provincial authorities for the earlier enactment of the law and release of Rs9 billion funds the election authority had sought as expenses for conducting the polls.

Under the Election Act, the ECP is bound to give a 45-day schedule for the polling process – from filing of nominations to the scrutiny of papers, adjudication of objections, withdrawal of candidatures, allotment of symbols and polling day.

It had set March 28 the last date for registration of independent candidates as electoral groups.

Parties differ on basic structure of local set-up

But the Punjab government could not yet enact the law as both the PTI-led coalition government and PML-N-led opposition parties were differing on the basic structure of the local governments in the Punjab Assembly’s Standing Committee on Local Government seized with the draft bill.

The enactment of the law lingered on as the ruling PTI was not ready to restore municipal committees in the new proposed system, while the opposition PML-N, PPP as well as junior coalition partner PML-Q were insisting on their introduction so that urban centres in the province were not neglected in the new system.

The two sides were also poles apart on the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the first phase of the electoral contest as the standing committee could not meet since Feb 16.

The ECP had completed the delimitation process under the Local Government Ordinance 2021, which was re-promulgated in March again on the expiry of its first 90-day life. And its second term is to expire on June 10.

The election authorities fear that holding of the polls under the Ordinance may be challenged in the court for being a temporary law like the one promulgated for conducting the local elections in Islamabad.

The issue is set to linger on further as there exists no government in Punjab after the resignation of the Buzdar cabinet.

Zahid Islam, chief of Sangat Development Foundation, an advocacy group on local government, asserts that the 2019 Local Government Act stands revived automatically at the end of the second term of life of the Ordinance as even the provincial assembly cannot do much on the issue.

And the 2019 law, he says, is not acceptable to the government, therefore, it will seek a further delay in the holding of the polls either through the judiciary, on whose direction and pressure the polls were being held, or a decision by the new cabinet after election to the office of the Punjab chief minister to be held on April 16.

He suggests that the polls for local government should be held along with the national and provincial assemblies if the houses are not to complete their five-year terms. It will save the nation extra costs incurred on holding LG polls separately.

Former Local Government Director-General, ECP, Muhammad Shehbaz, however, sees a silver lining irrespective of the fact that who is elected as Punjab chief minister, Hamza Shehbaz or Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, on April 16.

Both the CM hopefuls, he believes, will try to see that their respective men are holding offices of local governments when the nation will go to polls in the next one and a half years.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2022