Democracy Reporting International

Throughout Pakistan’s history, local government has been an object of political manoeuvring, rather than a recognised layer of government. For the country's further democratisation It is imperative that elected local government be established as a regular feature and that the electoral arrangements are in line with international obligations and good practices. This report looks at the history of local government in Pakistan, analyses the current debates and recommends key principles for genuine local government elections

Summary

Throughout Pakistan’s history, local government (LG) has been an object of political manoeuvring, rather than a recognised layer of government. On the one hand, the various military rulers have established elected local bodies to legitimise their own power and weaken that of the political parties. On the other hand, civilian govern­ments have not promoted elected LG because they have preferred to rule through provincial administrators. The association of elected government with military rule has tainted the very concept of elected LG. It is imperative that elected government be established as a regular feature of a functioning democracy in Pakistan.

Although historically the constitutional status of LG has been weak, this was strengthened by constitutional amendments under President Musharraf, which have been retained in the recent 18th Amendment of the Constitution. Article 140 A of the Constitution requires provinces to “(…) establish a LG system and to devolve political, financial and administrative responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local government.”

The current framework for LG, which is a combination of both direct and indirect elections, was adopted by the Musharraf government in 2001. Like previous LG schemes, it was marred from the beginning because it prohibits political parties from participation in local elections -a violation of the right to freedom of asso­ciation and an obvious attempt to weaken the role of political parties. Moreover, the system was imposed during a period when the Constitution was suspended, without approval by the Provincial Assemblies. Two LG elections were under the system (2000/2001 and 2005). Both were marred by allegations of wide-spread rigging.

Local government elections were scheduled to be held in 2009. After the political changes in 2008, however, the new provincial governments decided to postpone these elec­tions in order to amend the LG systems. Until 31 December 2009, any such changes required Presidential approval. In early 2010, all four provinces suspended the elected local bodies and tasked administrators (civil servants) with the management of LG affairs until elections are held.

On 13 May 2010, Balochistan province passed its new LG law. The law requires new LG elections within one year of the date of the law. The other three provinces are drafting new LG laws, a process that is subject to considerable negotiation among the various coalition partners in the provinces. This may result in different LG systems in each province. It is not clear when LG elections will be held in these provinces.

It is imperative that elected LGs be established as a regular feature of the democratic system. At the same time the arrangements for LG elections should be in line with international standards for democratic elections. Indeed, Pakistan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on 23 June 2010, which contains obligations related to democratic elections at all levels. In addition to international standards, the laws and practices at the local level should take into account reform initiatives at the federal level. Holding local elections in line with international standards would underpin the provinces’ aspirations of autonomy.