• The ECP call chief, local government secretaries in Islamabad today
• The proposed bill faces criticism from both treasury and opposition banks
Lahore: The Civil Bureaucracy of Punjab faces increasing critications for its repeated failure in the presentation of an acceptable local government law for both the Treasury and for the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP), much less the opposition.
Since the expiration of the last mandate of the local government in December 2021, the bureaucracy has prepared the Law of the Local Government of Punjab (PLGA) at least four times. However, none of the drafts have approved legislative scrutiny or has gained political consensus.
Irritated by the continuous delay in the completion of the PLGA, the Electoral Commission has summoned the main secretary of Punjab and the administrative secretary of the Department of Local Development and Community Development (LG & CD) in person on Thursday (today).
The PLGA, prepared by the civil bureaucracy, had caused strong criticisms of the treasure banks, since they said that “would bury local governments.” The opposition has gone further, denouncing the bill as a setback to the authoritarian policies of military rulers Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf.
The Treasury legislator, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, warned that the proposed bill would disapprove of the representatives chosen by centralizing the authority in the hands of the attached commissioners. Another treasure member, Ahmad IQBAL, said the new bill dismantling local governance.
In a notice addressed to the main secretary and the secretary of LG & CD for delay in the realization of local government elections in Punjab, the ECP declared that the term of the local government in Punjab had expired on December 31, 2021. Since then, the ECP said that it had undertaken several initiatives to facilitate the fixation of local government elections in the local government elections, including meetings, correspondence and correspondence.
The Electoral Commission said it was registered that the laws of the Punjab local government had suffered amendments four separate occasions and that the commission had carried out the delimitation process several times.
More recently, the current delimitation process for trade union councils was suspended at the request of the Punjab government to allow the completion of the Punjab Local Government bill, 2025. He said that the Commission accepted this request and granted an extension of four weeks, with a clear directive that “more extensions would not be interwoven.”
Subsequently, the ECP on his notice declared that the draft of the PLAGA was shared with the commission on December 26 of last year. The commission reviewed the draft and communicated its comments to the Punjab government on January 23 of this year.
“On February 26, a complete bank hearing was held, during which instructions were issued to the main secretary of Punjab to finish the legislative process. However, the Punjab government has not reported substantial progress. [to date] Regarding the promulgation of the required legislation or the conduct of local government elections, ”he said.
Consequently, the ECP has summoned the main secretary, as well as the Secretary of LG & CD, to appear in person before the commission on Thursday in its Secretariat of Islamabad.
‘Colonial mentality’
The opposition leader at the Punjab Assembly, Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachaha Sunrise That the civil bureaucracy had proposed non -partial elections in the bill of the Punjab Local Government, reflecting the Ziaul Haq dictators and the colonial mentality of General Musharraf.
He proposed all the powers rested with the respective attached commissioners instead of elected representatives. “The government wants all the elected to be taken to the collapse of the ruling party through incentives or pressure,” he said.
He said that the bill proposed that the elections of the Union Councils would be held in a non -partial way, and that the members would elect presidents of the Councils of the Union and the district of between them instead of the direct election of the President.
He said that the design was motivated by fear that Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf (PTI) could sweep the surveys if they are carried out at a party. He added that the opposition would suggest amendments and would oppose the existence proposed teeth and nails.
In the proposed bill, Bhachacha said, the government was trying to finish the Panchayat system, which was very important in most of the province.
The opposition leader said that the titular dispensation of Punjab, who said that “was no less than a government law government,” he should have announced the proposed law and requested public opinion before the end of it and present it to the Punjab Assembly.
“It will be a waste of time and money from the people if the Punjab government tries to approve the bill and celebrates the local government elections on a non -partial basis, giving powers to the attached commissioners instead of elected representatives,” he added.
Posted in Dawn, May 29, 2025
