The LB joke

Another false start for the local bodies elections was confirmed on Friday as the Election Commission of Pakistan revoked the commitment it gave to holding the said elections in October. Only three days back, the ECP had announced a schedule for the LB elections in Sindh and Punjab, with the first phase to be held in 25 districts on October 12. The other two phases were promised before the end of the current year. With the decision to announce a phased election already under question from political parties, the ECP on Wednesday issued a statement to the effect that the elections were not possible on the date given earlier. The reasons apparently are that the provinces are not ready and that since the dates fall in Moharrram, security cannot be guaranteed. The dilly-dallying over the LB elections has reached its peak. Why would the ECP announce a schedule three days ago only to decide it cannot be met later? The ECP clearly received no new information in the past two days to withdraw its decision. So who is it trying to fool?
One entity appears to be the Supreme Court, which has been pushing for early elections and has been urging provincial governments and the ECP to hold the elections at the earliest. On Tuesday, the ECP went to the SC seeking permission to delay elections and hold them in three phases: Nov 14, 19 and Dec 19. The SC responded by questioning why one constitutional body (the ECP) was asking for permission from another constitutional body (the SC) to violate a constitutional obligation. The SC has asked the ECP to justify each day of delay in conducting the elections, but it is clear that the ECP has no intention of doing so and will continue to provide lame excuses. It has become redundant to hammer home the importance of local bodies elections to real, grassroots democracy in Pakistan. The trouble is that political parties, especially those in power, see no advantage in devolving power. They want to continue to rule through funds disbursed through MNAs and MPAs instead of local bodies. Earlier, when the ECP threw in the new red herring of phased elections, political parties, including the PPP and PTI asked why the ECP could not hold the elections on the same date. We would further ask that the ECP needs to clarify whether phased elections would mean that counting and results would be announced on the same day, or would the polling bags be opened only once the last phase is conducted? If so, how will the ECP guarantee the security of the polling bags after having even its most basic processes questioned by the recent Judicial Commission ruling on the May 2013 elections. The ECP is using lame excuses to delay the LG polls in Sindh and Punjab. If it is under pressure from the provincial governments, it must expose it. Otherwise, the ECP is fast looking like the most inept governmental body in the country.