Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the governments of three provinces to complete legislative formalities promptly for holding local government elections.
The court also ordered the appointment of a permanent Chief Election Commissioner in two weeks.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk passed the directives while hearing a case pertaining to failure of the provinces to conduct elections to local bodies.
The local government system to empower people at the grassroots level was introduced during the regime of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf but it lapsed after his 2008 exit from power and restoration of democracy.
The court rejected the Sindh government’s plea for delaying local body elections on the grounds that time was needed for delimitation of constituencies.
The bench directed the Sindh government to present a bill about delimitation of constituencies to the provincial assembly by Thursday. It said the Sindh chief minister will be summoned if the provincial government fails to comply with the directives within the given time.
The court directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to decide the schedule of the local body elections in consultation with the election commission officials inside two days. It also directed the Punjab government to pass clear legislation on local body elections within two days.
The provincial governments have procrastinated on devolution of power at local levels despite clear instructions of the top court and have been widely criticised for ignorning basic requirements under a democratic system.
