AJK opposition ready for talks on electoral reforms

Islamabad : Conducting transparent and peaceful local government elections is the responsibility of the Election Commission and after the election, LBs should be empowered administratively and financially to serve the people.

These views were expressed by the representatives of Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League-N, Muslim Conference and Tehreek-e-Insaf as well as lawyers, journalists and civil society members while addressing a conference organised here by Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR) regarding LB polls to be held on Nov 27 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking at the event, Azad Kashmir PPP leader and Leader of Opposition in AJK Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Latif Akbar said that he is ready to cooperate with the government to make the local government system more empowered.

He asked the government to present a bill in the Assembly on this. The opposition, he said, supports a system that is in accordance with the requirements of the present times. He said without the devolution of financial and administrative powers to the grassroots level, the local bodies will not be able to serve the citizens as per their expectations and the people will be disappointed with them. He said that the Election Commission should lead this process and instead of looking towards the government, it should consult political parties on its own.

AJK Muslim League President Shah Ghulam Qadir said that the concept that political parties are against a local government system is wrong. We only want an effective and dignified local government system capable of meeting the expectations of the citizens. In this context, it should be decided what powers the District and Union Council members have and from where will they get the financial resources. He said that the Election Commission must prove its impartiality.

Sardar Usman Ali Khan, the central leader of the Muslim Conference, raised the concern that the Election Commission has no precise voter lists yet and is not able to delimit the constituencies.

Syed Ali Hasnain Gilani, Coordinator of SDGs for Azad Kashmir, said that Azad Kashmir's growth and prosperity indicators are better than other regions of Pakistan, especially in the education and health sectors.

Former Deputy Speaker Shaheen Kausar Dar said that the process of transfer of powers to the lower level will be made possible and people will also become part of the political system by virtue of these elections.

CPDR Director Ershad Mahmud said that the success of local government representatives will largely depend on their mastery of planning, budgeting, and financial management.

Dr Waqas Ali said that the LB elections are being held after an interval of three decades. All political parties should make their elected councillors part of the political system and train them to provide effective leadership to the masses.