President Zardari said PPP will form alliance with the allied parties to contest the up-coming general elections hoping that it will again emerge as the majority party and form new government at center and the provinces.
He said local bodies elections will be held at all costs before general elections. He said a bill relating to local body system will be passed by the Sindh Provincial Assembly within two months.
Meanwhile, a three-member committee headed by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah was formed to resolve the issue of local bodies system.
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If this statement is believed then it is a major blow to PTI's local government vision. The current PPP regime will very likely use the Supreme Court orders to conduct local body elections before general elections. If the LB polls are not held under a care taker setup , influence of the government in Islamabad and of the 4 provincial headquarters cannot be ruled out. The use of "government machinery" in local body elections akin to by-elections, will directly benefit the parties sitting in government. While those sitting outside will not be able to provide the same lucrative deals to individuals running for elections in union council , village and tehsil level posts.
The local government tenure of the next 5 years will also ensure that no fundamental change can be brought to the system as long as the local government representatives remain elected.
It is a sign of major worry for parties sitting outside the corridors power , particularly PTI, which desires fundamental overhauling of the local government system and intends to redistributed power down to the village level.
In my opinion these elections must be boycotted if held under the current government which is about to finish its term. LB polls must only be conducted under a caretaker setup very much like the general elections for them to be credible and without the influence of government machinery.
Sources:
http://dunyanews.tv/index.php?key=Q2F0SUQ9MiNOaWQ9OTkxMTg=
http://dawn.com/2012/04/13/sc-orders-immediate-local-bodies-polls/
