ECP threat makes Punjab notify number of special seats

ISLAMABAD: The threat of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) partially worked when the Punjab government notified the number of special seats for local governments while the Sindh administration was yet to do the same.

To avert further delay in completing and putting the local governments in place so as they start their normal work, the ECP had warned the two provincial governments that it will determine the number of reserved seats in local councils if they failed to do so in a couple of days as required under the law.

As per the local law, it is the discretion of the provincial governments to fix the number of reserved seats without which the ECP can’t hold polling for their indirect election.

“The ECP formally told the Punjab and Sindh governments that if they did not decide about the number of special seats in a couple of days, it will notify them and issue the schedule on Friday to fill them,” an official told The News.

The Punjab government decided about the number of special seats and formally amended the local law. But the Sindh government is still to do so. The ECP has appointed the presiding officers, who will start administering oath to the elected members from Thursday.

Asked about the reason behind the vacillation of the two provincial governments in fixing the number of reserved seats at an early date, the official said it was their traditional nonchalance towards making the local governments functioning.

However, a legal expert said that if the ECP determined the number of special seats for women, labourers, peasants, non-Muslims, youth and technocrats, its decision would be open to challenge in a court of law because the electoral body would be crossing its legal powers.

The official said that the local governments could not start their normal functioning even after a long time unless they were complete in all respects including the election to the special seats.

He said that the local laws of Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) allowed the respective federal and provincial governments to fix the number of reserved seats.

In the case of Islamabad, the official said, the ICT had fixed as many as 16 special seats, but when the ECP pointed out that their number was not as per the percentage spelt out in the local law, it changed this tally.

Then, the ICT increased their number to 27 from 16. It now has special seats for women, 33pc of all the directly elected members of the Islamabad Metropolitan (IMC). All of them are chairmen of the Union Councils (UCs). Now, the IMC will comprise a total of 77 members, who will elect the first-ever mayor of Islamabad. The polling for these special seats will be held on January 16.

The election for the reserved seats of local governments of Punjab and Sindh will mark the conclusion of another phase. Finally, the election of mayors of metropolitan corporations, and chairmen of municipal and town committees will be held. This will complete the protracted process of local elections in the two provinces.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which swept these polls in Punjab and interior parts of Sindh respectively, are in the process of picking up their candidates for the positions of mayors and chairmen of metropolitan corporations, and district councils, and municipal and town committees.

They have sought applications from the aspirants which will be reviewed by their committees to select the suitable contestants. They don’t face any formidable challenge and their nominees would be elected hands down due to their numerical superiority in the local councils.

This was the first time that the local polls were held in three phases in Punjab and Sindh instead of the same day polling. This was done to enable the ECP, law enforcement agencies and administrative machinery to conduct the elections in a transparent, smooth and peaceful environment. The bitter experience of the simultaneous polling in whole of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year, which was marred by massive mismanagement, violence and gross irregularities, was abandoned. However, this process is still incomplete even after the lapse of ten weeks. The polling was held on October 31, November 19 and December 5.