Empowering whom?

The PTI government in Punjab has introduced a new local government system in the province. The Punjab Local Government Act 2019 has replaced the Local Government Act 2013. The Punjab Assembly has also passed the Punjab Panchayat and Neighbourhood Council Act 2019 to introduce panchayat and neighbourhood councils. Union and district councils have been abolished under the new system.

The existing local governments in Punjab have been dissolved. Nearly 60,000 local governments elected representatives in Punjab have been dismissed with one stroke of the pen. The PTI government used its legal authority under the law made by the previous PML-N government, but this action will not strengthen democratic institutions and traditions in the country. This action might be legal but it is against the spirit of democracy.

The decision to dissolve the local governments seems politically motivated, the main aim being an end to the PML-N’s domination over local governments. The PTI wants to strengthen its political position so it can win the local government elections to take control of local governments.

The bureaucracy has already taken over local governments to run them for at least a year. The provincial government will have one year to consolidate its political position without an organised resistance in the form of PML-N-led local governments. So the PTI can run local governments with selected bureaucrats of its liking.

The PTI government rushed through the legislation without giving enough time to MPAs and the civil society to debate the new bill. No proper consultations were held with civil society organisations and existing elected representatives of the local governments. The government in fact killed any meaningful discussion and debate both inside and outside the assembly. This haste to avoid a proper public debate surprised many who believed that the PTI would hold wider consultations as promised by its leadership. The PTI government is working hard to prove that it is not different from the other governments as far as democratic traditions and norms are concerned.

There are many flaws and contradictions in the new system. The decision to hold the panchayat and neighbourhood council elections on a non-party basis shows that we have not learn anything from past experiences. The decision of the Zia dictatorship to hold non-party basis local bodies’ elections in 1979-1983 and then the 1985 parliamentary elections promoted clanism and sectarianism in our society.

Article 32 of the constitution ensures the participation of marginalised groups, such as women, minorities, peasants and labour in local government elections. The definition of labour and peasant is ambiguous and creates confusion. This reduces the true representation of labour and peasants in the local governments.

The representation of women in the new system has been significantly reduced. Women got 33 percent representation in the local government system introduced by General (r) Musharaf in 2001. Thousands of councilors and community activists emerged as a result of increased representation for women. That move encouraged a new layer of women activists to participate in local government and politics.

The PML-N government reduced this representation in the last local government system in 2013. Now this representation has been further reduced. And there will also be no representation for the youth in the new system, since the PTI government has abolished the youth seats introduced by the previous PML-N government.

Article 140-A of the constitution, brought in by the 18th Amendment, states that each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments. This means devolution of power from the federal to the provincial and from the provincial to the local governments. In the name of transparency, accountability, monitoring and sustainable development, the provincial government enjoys much control over the local governments. Technocrats and the bureaucracy have been given wider powers in the running of local government. This is against the spirit of Article 140-A of the constitution.

For instance, panchayat councils will be monitored by local boards, which will consist of unelected and nominated people. The local boards will have the powers to suspend or dissolve the panchayat councils. The provincial government will continue to dictate the terms through the local government finance commission, local government commission and local government boards. The unelected district management will continue to enjoy powers at the district level as there will be no elected local government in the district.

Delimitation and other administrative aspects of the new local government system might take more than one year to complete. There might be a long-drawn legal battle in the courts around the new system. The provincial government will continue to run local government institutions through the bureaucracy more happily. The change has come.