PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided not to extend the term of the existing local governments and to hold new local government elections.
The holding of these elections has been made conditional on holding local government elections in other provinces, especially Punjab. According to Provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam, the government has no plan under consideration to extend the term of local governments.
“If the Punjab government holds local government elections, then elections will also be held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on time.” He added that local government institutions are not yet functional in Punjab, so the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is also reviewing the situation related to this decision.
Meanwhile, the Local Council Association, an organisation of local government representatives, has announced that if local government elections are not held on time, they will approach the court.
Association Chairman Himayatullah Mayar said, “According to the constitution, the constitutional term of local government representatives begins on the day they take oath. The government will have to ensure that elections are held on time.”
Coordinator Intizar Khalil also complained that local government representatives were neither released with development funds nor empowered, which affected public service. According to him, the government has been repeatedly demanded to extend the term of the current local governments, and negotiations are also underway with the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in this regard.
