NA passes bill on non-party LG polls in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday passed the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill 2014 to rationalise and reorganise the local government system in the federal capital, and rejected an amendment moved by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to hold polls on a party basis.
The government while opposing an amendment in Clause 13 that elections shall be held on a party basis provided that any candidate can contest elections as an independent, allowed passage of an amendment in Clause 11 amongst other amendments. This amendment in clause 11 says that the metropolitan corporation shall consist of the number of women, which should not be less than 33 per cent, peasant/workers not less than 5 per cent, non-Muslims not less than 5 per cent, youth not less than 5 per cent and technocrats not less than 2 per cent of the total strength.
The government also rejected an amendment in clause 25 for the deletion of a sub clause which says that a candidate or member would stand disqualified if he used for his election, the platform, flag, symbol, affiliation and financial or material resources or support of political, religious, ethnic or sectarian party or organisation.
Clause 13 of the bill says that the election of members of all local governments shall be held through secret ballot on the basis of adult franchise in such manner as may be prescribed.The government’s opposition to the amendment regarding party-based elections followed an exchange of arguments and allegations in support of non-party based local government polls in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Criticising the local government polls on a non-party basis as provided in the legislation, the opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah said by doing so, the government was going to plant the sapling of corruption at the grassroots level.
“The government should not run away from the local bodies elections in Islamabad on a party basis and it should have trust in its political party and party’s manifesto,” Khursheed Shah said.
He said the PPP believed in party-based elections as it felt that corruption at the grass roots started when local bodies elections during the tenure of Ayub Khan were held on a non-party basis. “It seems the PML-N leadership does not have confidence in itself and they will not be able to do horse trading if polls are held on a party basis,” he said. The opposition leader recalled that top leaders also remained chief ministers during tenures of dictators but now they should forget the past.
He pointed out that the PPP also supported local government elections in all the four provinces on party basis as such an exercise serves the purpose of strengthening political parties at the grass roots level.
Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad while opposing the amendment said that local government systems should provide an opportunity to the people to elect a person of high character best known to them regardless of party affiliations. “In the local government system, the political parties should not be allowed to impose their people on the masses,” he said.
Regarding allegations of corruption, the minister said everybody knows who had been involved in corrupt practices in the past. However, he admitted that some people who participated in the local bodies polls on non-party basis during the tenure of General Ziaul Haq later also contested elections to the national and provincial assemblies and joined political parties. The PPP members were of the view that such examples should not be quoted.
The local governments shall consist of union councils and metropolitan corporations.The mayor and deputy mayor of the metropolitan shall be elected as joint candidates, in first session of the metropolitan corporation from amongst the chairmen of all union councils, women, peasants/workers, technocrats, youth and non-Muslim members. The tenure of union councils and metropolitan corporations would be five years.
The government also adopted two other amendments, which provide for doing away with minimum number of 200 minority voters for a minority member in a union council and distribution of collected property tax amongst metropolitan corporation and union councils.
The National Assembly also passed the Federal Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance (First Amendment) Bill, 2013 and Federal Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance (Second Amendment) Bill 2013.
Presently, a monthly benevolent grant is provided to the family members of an employee who dies up to the age of 70 years. The amendment provides for the removal of the age limit of 70 years.