RAWALPINDI: For three years, the Rawalpindi District Council has been without a head and the organisation’s affairs have been run by the bureaucracy.

Local government elections were held across the province in December 2015, during which people elected chairmen and vice chairman of 110 union councils in Rawalpindi district’s seven tehsils. Elections are still pending in five union councils in Kotli Sattian.

Although the PML-N won a majority in the district council, the organisation has yet to elect a chairman and vice chairman. The deputy commissioner has been looking after the district council’s affairs as an administrator in the absence of the district chairman.

Council elections will be tricky for PML-N due to some UC chairmen’s open support for Chaudhry Nisar, party leader says

“There are two reasons for the pending elections. One is that elections were not held in five Kotli Sattian tehsils and the second is the lack of interest from the PML-N owing to a difference of opinion between its two main leaders from Rawalpindi district,” a PML-N leader told Dawn.

He said a PML-N leader from a rural part of Rawalpindi tehsil and another from Kahuta wanted to bring in their own people for the seat. However, he said, after differences with the party leadership, one wanted to bring his own man for the slot after the general election.

After the relevant cases had been decided in court, the party’s union council chairmen had demanded that the leadership choose a candidate for the head of the council so that people’s problems could be addressed by public representatives, he said.

“The PML-N assured union council chairmen that after completing the 2018 elections process, the district council elections will be held,” the party leader said, adding that candidates would be nominated next month.

“These will be tricky elections for the PML-N, as many union council chairmen openly supported estranged PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in the general election but under the political parties act they have to follow the party leadership’s instructions and would not be able to support anyone other than the party’s nominee,” he said.

The PTI has limited seats in the council, he added, while all the independent union council chairmen have submitted their affiliation with the PML-N.

“The district council is important in the situation after the general election when the PTI swept the district and all the local government power is still in the PML-N’s hands, and they will give the expectedly ruling PTI a tough time in the coming days,” he said.

Due to the absence of an elected house, development work in the district is still pending and employees of the district council have also been affected. According to the rules, the district council has to approve promotions and the inductions of new employees.

A senior council official told Dawn the approved strength of the organisation is 372, but 169 posts are vacant.

He said elected members have to be consulted before the approval of any public-oriented policies because they represent the public’s view in legislation.

Building by-laws approved by the government also cannot be implemented without the approval of the district council. In the absence of building by-laws, residents face trouble having buildings in the district approved and have to be given temporary position and will have to seek approval again after the elected house is formed.

“Residents also face problems reaching the deputy commissioner with their local issues; the assistant commissioner will not solve their problems. Most people travel from far-flung areas for their problems to be resolved,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2018