Punjab Local Government Minister Mian Mahmood-ur-Rashid said on Wednesday that local bodies’ lections in the province would be held on May 15, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

Addressing a function at Punjab University, Lahore, the provincial minister said that under the new the Local Government Act, a seat had been reserved for special persons. “Similarly, the Act also gives representation to youth and traders,” he informed.

He said that the government was making efforts to put an end to the practice of making changes in the Local Bodies Act before every election.

“The local government system in Pakistan has not developed for years. No government, including ours, has been able to remedy the situation; to look into the causes as to why the system could not mature despite a passage of 73 years since independence,” Rashid lamented. 

The minister also criticised the old local government system, saying it was merely for a show off. “Under that system, the mayor had no authority,” he said.

Underlining the fact that the parliamentarians’ job was to legislate only, the minister said the government wanted the local bodies to be strong. Only then people’s problems would be solved at their doorstep, he added.

Rashid said it was up to the Election Commission of Pakistan to decide whether electronic voting machines would be used in the upcoming local government polls. 

Reporter Imran Younus