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EDITORIAL: The leadership of the Pakistan Democracy Movement (PDM) seems to believe that if polls are held for parliament, provincial assemblies and local governments, their results could undermine Imran Khan’s strong call for early elections.
This widespread perception seems to have found a measure of credence when the National Assembly approved a bill to increase the number of union councils from 101 to 125.
This is less than 10 days before the poll date, so the frantic attempt to delay the LG polls in the federal capital is clear and unambiguous.
Moreover, it is no secret that all the stages of election preparations are over and the stage for the LG polls is ready. Despite Khan being the target of extreme violence a day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan refused to support the PDM’s push to postpone the polls.
Right now, the Capital City is full of posters and flyers for candidates, who are going to every house in their respective regions trying to get support or votes. It should be noted that the local administrative body of the capital city ended its mandate in February of last year.
According to the rules, new elections should have been held within 120 days after the end of the mandate. At the beginning of this year, the EEC decided to hold elections, set the schedule, and set July 31 as the voting date.
However, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and other parties filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking to increase the number to 101 instead of holding 50 Federal Council elections.
For this purpose, the court decided to hold the election voting in 101 capital cities, and before the new schedule was issued by the EEC, the election was planned to be held on December 31. But such an arrangement does not suit the PML(N). sense of place.
Earlier this week, after the federal government decided to postpone local government polls in the Capital, the Home Ministry issued a letter increasing the number of UCs from 101 to 125.
It is considered appropriate to postpone the election for a few months as a new division is needed. The ECP said the federal government’s announcement violated the Islamabad Metropolitan Local Government Act, 2015 and the Constitution. But yesterday, the Islamabad High Court quashed the ECP’s notification refusing to increase the size of the federal government. the number of trade union council decisions.
Interestingly, as expected, the ECP’s decision was welcomed not only by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders but also by local PML(N) leaders; The last answer is actually a subtle but powerful message to our candidates: Don’t lose heart, keep going forward with all your might.
Since the capital is not yet a province, its representatives at the decision-making session of the Government do not have the right to speak on issues that need attention. It is an area of about two million people, and they too face fundamental challenges.
Even though the capital is represented in the Parliament, even in name, we need a government that reaches the threshold of the people and asks if they can do something to ease their suffering.
It is true that the passage of the bill by the National Assembly is intended to delay the vote. However, a senior ECP official told the newspaper that any amendment to the act should not negate the provisions of the constitution.
Copyright Business Writer, 2022
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