EDITORIAL: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja made a point the other day when he called the Punjab government’s decision to conduct local government (LG) polls through electronic voting machines (EVMs) a “stunt meant to drag feet on the already delayed electoral exercise.” This brings us right back to the debate about provincial governments’ traditional dislike for LGs even though the third tier is the most important one in a functioning democracy.
It also provides yet more proof that our self-professed champions of representative government use politics purely for self-gain and will fight any attempt to devolve power (read resources) to the grassroots tooth and nail.
And when they are forced, quite often by the courts, to hold LG elections, they strip those governments of all effective power only to make sure that the bulk of the resources that trickle down from the centre remain with them.
It’s a shame that the last time there were legitimately empowered LGs in the country was when the military was directly in power, in General Musharraf’s time, and since then all talk of empowering the grassroots, which is the very essence of democracy, has been an eyewash. It seems that the only way to deal with this problem once and for all is to give the constitution an extra chapter about local governments. And just as the 18th Amendment granted a historic devolution of power from the centre to the provinces, there is need for further devolution from provinces to LGs. Only then will democracy truly come full circle in this country.
It’s also pretty clear that the present arrangement where development funds are given to MNAs and MPAs, a travesty traced to General Zia’s time, is not working for anybody beyond those privileged politicians; definitely not for the state or the people at large. And considering the kind of existential problems most people suffer from now, especially after the shock of Covid and devastation of the floods, it is more important than ever to give them a direct political stake in all their affairs. Only when it is up to them to elect people from within themselves to solve their most pressing problems will they be in a position to make sure all promises are kept and all funds go to the right places. It will also empower them to promptly deliver the axe whenever their chosen representatives try to fool them by making lucrative careers out of politics.
It’s also very sad that there is no mention of practical solutions, just like powerful LG governments, in the fierce national political debate that is all the rage right now. Clearly, our political elite never evolved from politics of hatred and accusations into real democrats capable of delivering workable political solutions for the people. And since it is the politicians that will have to tweak the constitution to make it more grassroots-oriented, which is going to deprive them of what they consider their privileges, there’s little to suggest that this item will move beyond the people’s wish list anytime soon. And so we go around in circles.
It must be noted that the media, the newest pillar of state, has also left a little to be desired when it comes to pressing for LGs. It has great reach among the people, after all, and in enlightening the millions upon millions of them of their real democratic rights, to the point that they demand legitimate political power from their representatives, might lie the only lasting solution to this problem. So far, though, nothing has made a difference and provincial governments are able to use any excuse under the sky, like EVMs in Punjab this time, to kick the can further down the road.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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