ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has sought an amendment in the Elections Act, 2017 to ensure the timely conduct of local government elections across the country, it emerged on Monday.

In a letter sent to the Parliamentary Affairs Division secretary, the commission has proposed an amendment in Section 219(1) of the Elections Act.

Section 219(1) of the Elections Act in its original form reads: “The commission shall conduct elections to the local governments under the applicable local government law, and the rules framed thereunder, as may be applicable to a province, cantonments or Islamabad Capital Territory.”

The proposed amendment by the ECP, however, states: “The commission shall conduct elections to the local governments under the applicable local government law at the time of the expiry of term or dissolution of the local governments, and the rules framed thereunder, as may be applicable to a province, cantonments or Islamabad Capital Territory.”

Explaining the rationale for the proposed amendment, the letter refers to Article 140-A of the Constitution, which mandates that each province shall establish a local government system by law, devolving political, administrative, and financial authority to elected representatives.

According to the Elections Act, 2017 (Chapter XIII), the ECP under Article 140-A (2), read with Article 219 (d) of the Constitution, is under an obligation to conduct local government elections.

In the letter sent to the Parliamentary Affairs Division secretary, the ECP said, “Local government is an important tier and bedrock of democracy, which provides basic facilities to the public at grass‑root level”.

“It is observed that no government has generally shown readiness to conduct local government elections and the Election Commission faces difficulties in timely holding of local government elections as mandated under the Constitution and the law,” it added.

Issued with the signatures of ECP Additional Director General (local government elections) Chaudhry Nadeem Qasim, the letter went on to say, “In order to fulfil its constitutional obligation, the commission has always strived to hold timely local government elections but the federal and provincial governments repeal or amend the local government laws even after the expiry of the term of the local government which causes inordinate delay in the conduct of election and the commission faces difficulty in [the] fulfilment of its constitutional duty”.

It is worth mentioning that Section 219 (4) of the Elections Act states that the commission should hold polls within one hundred and twenty days of the expiry of the local government’s term.

In May last year, the ECP had explained its failure to meet its constitutional responsibility of conducting long-overdue local government elections in Punjab and Islamabad, with ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan blaming Article 140-A of the Constitution for the inordinate delay.

“If the political parties desire timely local government elections, an amendment to Article 140-A is inevitable,” the ECP secretary had remarked.

The ECP had already summoned the Punjab chief secretary and the local government secretary to appear in person before the commission on Jan 22 to explain the delay in activities required to hold long-delayed local elections in the province.

Experts, however, note that the ECP had vast powers under the Constitution and was in a position to assert itself for the timely conduct of local government polls.

They say that guarding against corrupt practices was a constitutional obligation, and it was clearly a corrupt practice to allow governments to defeat the spirit of the law by amending the law even after the announcement of the election schedule.

A legal expert also referred to section 219 (5) of the Elections Act, which reads, “The commission shall organise and conduct elections under this chapter and shall make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the elections are conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that the corrupt practices are guarded against.”

He said that the commission cannot only bar the respective governments from amending the local government law after the announcement of the election schedule, but can also punish them if they fail to comply.

“Asking the federal government to amend the Elections Act against its political interest amounts to helping the government drag its feet in conducting the electoral exercise,” he remarked.