Pakistan Muslim League, which is also known as PML (QA), has on one hand announced to actively participate in the upcoming local bodies elections in the Punjab and on the other hand demanded that the local polls, which will revive the local government at the grass root level in the province, be held on the same day and not in a scattered manner.
According to the media reports, the party has taken decisions in this respect at its organizing committee which was held in Lahore the other under the chairmanship of party chief Ch Shujat Hussain.
The party decision to contest local polls in a full-fledged manner is indeed welcome as it is good that maximum number of political parties enter their candidates for the local polls to regenerate democracy at the lowest level in the province. At the same, one cannot disagree with the party demand that the local bodies elections be held on the same day.
Organizing as well as contesting election is a cumbersome process and it will be good for the contesting parties and their candidates and also the Election Commission and its staff down the line that this process is completed in one day instead of its being spread on different dates in scattered manner.
Other like-minded parties also endorse this demand of PML (QA) that the local polls in the province be held on one day, according to some other reports.
Election Commission of Pakistan should give due consideration to this demand from number of opposition parties which seems to be quite justified and practical as well instead of sticking to its earlier decision of holding local polls in stages on different dates.
Local polls are going to revive democracy at the grass root level and replacing City District Governments manned by bureaucrats administrators for a number of years. In the polls, the people will elect their representatives who will then be taking care of their problems and do the development works locally according to the felt-needs of the people. Needless to mention here that bureaucrat administrators of the City District Governments all these years have been taking the decisions at their sweet will without being in contact with the people and having any knowledge or realization about their felt-needs.
DANIYAL NAJMEE,
Lahore, September 3.