Chapter – XIV) Election Method, Franchise and Related Matters #
47. Election Method.– #
(1) Election of local governments shall be held on party basis through secret ballot on the basis of adult franchise, through Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and I-voting, in the prescribed manner.
(2) The Head of a local government, Deputy Mayor, or Vice Chairperson, and the Councillors to the reserved seats shall be elected, as joint candidates, on the basis of simple majority in terms of section 57.
(3) The general Councillors shall be elected on closed list proportional representation basis in terms of section 57.
(4) The Head of a local government, Deputy Mayor, or Vice Chairperson, as the case may be, and all Councillors on reserved seats shall be elected by eligible voters of the respective electoral unit.
(5) Only a Political Party or an Electoral Group shall be entitled to contest elections by fielding qualified candidates for the office of Head of the local government, Deputy Mayor, or Vice Chairperson, as the case maybe, and at least as many qualified candidates for elections as there are seats of Councillors.
(6) No Political Party or an Electoral Group shall be entitled to contest if it is unable to field qualified candidates for all the categories of candidates under subsection (5).
(7) Where a Political Party or an Electoral Group is contesting an election under this Act, its candidates for the Head, Deputy Mayor, or Vice Chairperson, as the case may be, and reserved seats, as joint candidates, and generalCouncillors shall contest election on the lists of the Political Party or the Electoral Group prepared under subsections (8) and (9).
(8) A Political Party or an Electoral Group contesting election under this Act shall indicate the names of the candidates for seats of Head, Deputy Mayor or Vice Chairperson, as the case may be, of a local government and Councillors for reserved seats, as joint candidates, on a list which shall not be varied after expiry of the date for submission of nomination papers for an election under this Act.
(9) A Political Party or an Electoral Group contesting election under this Act shall indicate the names of the candidates for seats of general Councillors on a list in ranking order in which they may be elected on the basis of votes obtained by the Political Party or the Electoral Group, on the basis of proportional representation.
(10) Subject to sub-section (7) of Section 70, after expiry of the date fixed for submission of nomination papers for an election under this Act, the list referred to in subsection (9) shall not be varied by any Political Party or, as the case may be, any Electoral Group in terms of ranking order of the candidates or the name of the candidates by way of addition of a fresh name or omission of an existing name in the list.
(11) Nothing in this section shall prevent a Political Party or an Electoral Group from fielding additional qualified candidates in ranking order to the seats of the Head of a local government, Deputy Mayor, Vice Chairperson and Councillors, keeping in view any possibility of rejection of nomination papers to avoid disenfranchisement, or for filling casual vacancies during the term of the Council for any reason.
(12) The Speaker of a local government, except Union Council, shall be elected by the Councillors from amongst themselves, in the prescribed manner, through simple majority of votes, in the first meeting of the Council.
(13) Where the seat of the Head of a local government or Deputy Mayor or Vice Chairperson, as the case may be, the seat of the Speaker and a Councillor falls vacant during their term of office, they shall be elected in the manner given in sections 69 and 70 of this Act.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| – | 83 | 47 | 59,60 | 47 |
Comments
This section is of much significance. It provides mode and the method to conduct local government elections. Sub-section (1) provides that election to the local governments shall be held on party-basis. Prior to the enforcement of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013, elections to the local governments were held on non-party basis under the previous local government enactments i.e. the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 1979 and the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001. Initially section 18 of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 also contained provision for holding elections to the local governments on non-party basis but the same was assailed through Writ Petition No.23040/2013 titled “Pakistan Peoples Party v. Government of Punjab, etc.” Division Bench of the Hon’ble Lahore High Court, Lahore vide judgment reported as PLD 2014 Lahore 330 held as under:
“10.2. Local Governments derive their status from Articles 7, 32, and 140A of the Constitution. While these constitutional provisions permit provincial legislation on the subject of the Local Government system yet checks have been imposed on the power of the Provincial Legislature to guide such legislation. The Constitution commands to devolve political responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of Local Governments. Political responsibility and authority is exercised by elected representatives of the Local Governments by applying their political values and principles. These define the political identity of the elected representatives. The denial of political identity of a candidate for a Local Government office by section 18 PLGA negates the obligation of the Province under Article 140A of the Constitution to devolve political authority and responsibility to elected representatives of Local Governments. Consequently, the non-party based, non-political election to Local Governments depriving candidates of their political identity is also inconsistent with the mandate of Article 140A (1) of the Constitution and must yield to that constitutional command: (Wattan Party through its President v. FOP and others (PLD 2006 SC 697) and Baz Muhammad Kakar and others v. FOP and others (PLD 2012 SC 870).
10.5 Significantly certain offices of Local Governments under the PLGA are not elected by adult franchise. The elected representatives of Union Councils, Metropolitan Corporation, Municipal Committee and Municipal Corporation constitute an electoral college for the post of Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Mayor and Deputy Mayor, as the case may be, of such Local Governments. The participation of elected representatives in the said indirect election involves the exercise of a political choice. Such choice can be exercised fairly, prudently, and transparently if the electors are imbued with a defined political vision, principles and values. The elected representatives having backing of political party would make their choice without being swayed by influence and other considerations.
11. In view of the foregoing observations, we hold that section 18 of the PLGA is inconsistent with the fundamental right under Article 17(2) of the Constitution of citizens and political parties to contest elections to the public posts in the Local Governments. Also non-party elections to offices in the Local Governments is inconsistent with the command in Article 140A(1) of the Constitution.
Pursuant to the above judgment, section 18 of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 was amended for conduct of local government elections on party basis. Another remarkable change brought by this section is that instead of manual procedure of casting votes in the ballot boxes, votes shall be casted through Electronic Voting Machines and I-Voting. I-Voting, or internet voting, refers to systems which allow people to vote in an election or referendum from any device connected to the internet. I-Voting has been introduced to facilitate the overseas Pakistanis to cast vote which is otherwise their fundamental right.
Most importantly, instead of direct mode of election of Union Councils and indirect mode of election of the next higher tier of the local government, direct mode of election at the level of all tiers of local governments has been introduced. To elaborate, it is stated that the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 provided direct mode of election at the level of Union Council on the basis of adult franchise according to which all voters in the local area of the Union Council were entitled to cast vote, whereas, at the level of the District Council, Municipal Corporation and the Metropolitan Corporation, there was an indirect mode of election and the Chairmen of the Union Councils being ex-officio members of the said local governments were electorate to elect Chairman and Vice Chairman or Mayor and Deputy Mayor, as joint electorate. On the other hand, this section provides direct election at all tiers of the local governments. Unlike Union Councils under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013, no representation to the Chairmen of Union Councils under the Act has been given in the District Councils and Metropolitan Corporations.
For the purpose of election to the local governments, the Head of a local government, Deputy Mayor, or Vice Chairperson, and the Councillors to the reserved seats have been clubbed as joint candidates, whereas the general Councillors shall be elected on closed list proportional representation basis. Voter in the electoral unit shall cast only one vote for the above election. As envisaged in section 57, the candidates to the office of the Head of the local government, Deputy Mayor or Vice Chairperson as the case may be, and Councillors to the reserved seats, as joint candidates, appointed by the Political Party or the Electoral Group, securing highest number of votes in the respective electoral unit shall stand elected while the candidates to the office of a general Councillor shall be elected in the ranking order given by the Political Party or the Electoral Group on whose list they are contesting, in proportion to the votes secured in the respective electoral unit. As provided in section 52, a voter shall be entitled to cast only one vote for the Political Party or the Electoral Group, representing candidates of his choice for election of a local government.
It is also important to note that in order to safeguard fundamental right of an independent candidate, given the mode of election provided in the Act, the independent candidate has been enabled to contest election to the local government by forming an Electoral Group. A Political Party or an Electoral Group may contest election only by:
(i) fielding qualified candidates for the office of Head of the local government, Deputy Mayor, or Vice Chairperson and at least as many qualified candidates for elections as there are seats of Councillors;
(ii) indicating their names on a two separate lists, e.g. one for names of the candidates for seats of Head, Deputy Mayor or Vice Chairperson of a local government and Councillors for reserved seats, as joint candidates, which shall not be varied after expiry of the date for submission of nomination papers; and the other for candidates for seats of general Councillors on a list in ranking order which shall not be varied by any Political Party or, as the case may be, any Electoral Group in terms of ranking order of the candidates or the name of the candidates by way of addition of a fresh name or omission of an existing name in the list unless the list is exhausted as envisaged in sub-section (7) of section 70.
48. Opposition Leader.– #
The Councilors representing majority of opposition in the House shall soon after assumption of their office, through written intimation to the Speaker, nominate the opposition leader in the House to represent them.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| – | – | 48 | 23 | 48 |
49. Electoral units.– #
(1) The entire local area of a local government shall constitute one multi-member electoral unit for elections to the respective local government.
(2) The Election Commission shall, at least forty five days prior to the date fixed for the election, notify electoral units in the official Gazette.
(3) The electoral units constituted under this section shall remain valid for every subsequent election under this Act unless altered by the Election Commission subsequent to review of local areas under this Act.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| – | 84 | 49 | – | 49 |
50. Enlistment of an Electoral Group.– #
(1) The Election Commission shall, through public notice, specify the dates for enlistment of Electoral Groups of a local government, with the office of the Election Commission for election under this Act.
(2) The Head of a proposed Electoral Group may, in the prescribed manner, apply for enlistment of the Electoral Group, by submitting a list of his members of the Electoral Group which shall not be less than the total seats of Head, Deputy Mayors or Vice Chairpersons as the case may be, and Councillors including reserved seats for the local government, for which his Electoral Group wishes to contest election.
(3) For enlistment of an Electoral Group, a non-refundable fee of one thousand rupee per member shall be deposited along with the application for enlistment.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| – | 85 | 50 | – | 50 |
Comments
A Political Party enlisted under Elections Act is entitled to contest an election. The Head of the proposed Electoral Group may within the specified time submit application personally in to the Election Commission or any officer authorized by him for enlistment of Electoral Group mentioning the name the name of local government, tehsil and District as well as the name and office address of the proposed Election Group. The application shall also contain: (i) particulars of the Head and other office bearers of the proposed Electoral Group; and (ii) mechanism for change of Head of the Electoral Group and other terms and conditions certified by the Head and other office bearers of the proposed Electoral Group. The member once proposed for enlistment in any Electoral Group is debarred from being subsequently enlisted in any other Electoral Group.
51. Electoral rolls.– #
The Election Commission shall use the electoral rolls prepared under the Elections Act for elections under this Act.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| 21 | 87 | 51 | 61 | 51 |
52. Right to vote.– #
(1) No person shall be eligible to vote in an electoral unit unless his name, for the time being, appears in the electoral roll of that electoral unit.
(2) A voter shall be entitled to cast only one vote for the Political Party or the Electoral Group, representing candidates of his choice for election of a local government.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| – | 90 | 52 | – | 52 |
