RAWALPINDI: The delimitation process for new constituencies inside the Rawalpindi district councils, tehsil councils, and union councils throughout all six districts of the Rawalpindi Division has been suspended by the regional electoral commission and the revenue department.
The possibility of holding local body elections throughout Punjab has been called into question by this sudden move.
The Express Tribune was informed by district administration sources that the impending modification of Punjab’s local government structure is the reason behind the delimitation process’ suspension. The Local administration Act of 2013 will need to be amended in order to implement the new system, which will essentially mean that the 2022 Act passed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration is no longer in effect.
This has led to the suspension of the process of establishing new constituencies for each of the six districts that make up the Rawalpindi Division: Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Talagang, and Murree. This covers all six municipal committees and union councils, as well as the newly created constituencies of the Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation and the Murree District Council. Until the new local government system is approved by the provincial assembly, the creation of these constituencies will not proceed.
Once the demographic requirements for the union councils are established, new schedules for the constituencies will be released. The boundaries for the district councils, tehsil councils, town committees, municipal corporations, and municipal committees have not yet been finalized.
The process of creating new union council constituencies won’t start until after that.
Amir Raza Ahmad Shah, the deputy of Jamaat-e-Islami Rawalpindi, has criticized the decision to halt the delimitation process, calling it a ploy to evade local body elections. Shah contended that the delay strategy was implemented by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) in recognition of its declining popularity and poor chances of obtaining chairmanships or mayorships in any city.
Under the new local government system, Iftikhar Chaudhry, Senior Vice President of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), emphasized the need of establishing local government. He criticized the current system of mismatches and said it was unsuitable. PTI candidate for the National Assembly, Shehryar Riaz, has also voiced opposition to the ruling, claiming that the people have rejected both the PPP and the PML-N. Riaz demanded that Punjab hold municipal elections as soon as the new constituencies are completed, arguing that stopping the delimitation process is a ploy to postpone local elections.
