IF all goes according to plan, and no more spanners are thrown in the works, the second phase of Sindh’s long-delayed local government polls will be held next Sunday. The first phase was held in June of last year, but the second leg — to be conducted in Karachi and Hyderabad — has been delayed multiple times. While the initial delay was justified due to the unprecedented summer floods, subsequent postponements at the instigation of the Sindh government appeared suspicious, as if the ruling party in the province was trying to indefinitely delay this crucial democratic exercise. The fact is that the PPP-led Sindh administration is not alone in not wanting to hold LG polls, for the PTI and PML-N have shown similar disinterest in having an elected third tier in Punjab and Islamabad, respectively. But this time it appears that the LG polls will be held on schedule, as the chief election commissioner said on Friday that the elections in Sindh will not be delayed. The CEC was responding to a petition of the MQM-P, which is also pushing for a postponement for various reasons, including questions over electoral rolls and delimitation. However, in the view of the CEC, the MQM-P’s reservations were “irrelevant” and he instructed the Sindh government to arrange the security and logistics to ensure the polls are held on Jan 15.

The elected local bodies in Sindh were wrapped up in Aug 2020; and while under the law elections to the third tier are supposed to be held within 120 days after the expiry of the LGs’ tenure, Sindh has been without elected local bodies for nearly two-and-a-half years. The results of not having elected local representatives are clear across urban Sindh, particularly Karachi. Overflowing sewers, broken roads and crumbling infrastructure reflect the ruling party’s and the bureaucracy’s disinterest in this city. The PPP thinks a park here and a couple of dozen buses there can solve the megacity’s problems. Far from it; only elected and empowered local bodies can transform Karachi and the rest of Sindh into liveable 21st century urban spaces. The MQM may have a point about delimitations, but if we were to wait till these issues make their way through the legal labyrinth, the people of Sindh may be deprived of elected local representatives for an even longer period. Sindh needs an effective local government law, and empowered elected municipalities working under this system to deliver basic civic services to the people.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2023