RECORDER REPORT

FAISALABAD: Women of two leading organisations Awaz and Awam taken out a rally to press the Punjab government for immediately local bodies’ election and speakers stated that ruling party is wasting time for more benefit of members of provincial assembly, who are enjoying local bodies’ fund.

The participants were chanting slogans against the government and demanding local bodies’ elections to hand over the power to the public.

Addressing the gathering, Nazia Sardar, Director of Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) said that the peoples wanted elections not selections without powers. She demanded that government to ensure right of marginalized groups to elect their representatives on reserved seats through secret ballot.

The Local Government System is a base for democracy and treated as nursery that produces political leaders. This system helps to improve and shape the local public representatives to engage in national politics. The indirect election at this level will debar the marginalized groups from participating in the practical politics through canvassing, leading to their political disempowerment, she added. The Punjab government has played with the system for its own benefits through promulgation of ordinance amending the Punjab local government act passed by its own assembly in 2013, which will help the ruling party to manoeuvre the final results of the upcoming polls, she added.

Earlier, talking to newsmen, Leader of the Awami Workers Party, Arif Ayaz said, “The long overdue local government elections will now have procedure similar to general elections, where voters from a union council will directly elect chairman and vice-chairman as joint candidates, and six councillors on general seats through vote, while the elected councillor will select members on youth, workers, minority and women seats through indirect election.” “The governor of the Punjab has issued ordinance, because the Punjab government has insecurity after having witnessed the results of the KPK local government polls through secret ballot on all seats, where independent candidates and political parties contesting local government elections for the first time, secured dozens of seats,” he added.