Faisalabad: September 18, 2015. (PCP) The government must reinstate Punjab Local Government Act 2013 to ensure democratic and constitutional right of marginalized groups to elect their own representatives on reserved seats through secret ballot in upcoming local government polls, and repeal The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 and The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2015. The government must introduce amendment in the article 140-A of the constitution of Pakistan to hold the local government polls within specified timeframe to serve the interest of common people. These demands were made by the participants during protect demonstration under “Direct Vote Now Campaign” to mark international day of democracy held in front of the Press club in Faisalabad on September 14, 2015. The protest demonstration was jointly staged by Peace and Human Development (PHD) Foundation, Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM), Adara Samaji Behbood (ASB), and Rights of Expression, Assembly, Association and Thought (REAT) Network. Speaking on the occasion, the director of the Peace and Human Development (PHD Foundation), Suneel Malik said, “The rulers want marginalized groups including; women, minorities, workers and youth to remain doormats and politically disenfranchised. The government introduced selection of candidates on reserved seats instead of following constitutional provisions governing elections. The local bodies electoral system is discriminatory, ineffective and a flagrant violation of Articles 32 (Promotion of Local Government Institution), 140-A (Devolve Power to Local Government) and 226 (Election through Secret Ballot) of the Constitution of Pakistan. Therefore, local government system must be legally protected through constitutional amendment to become more effective, efficient and produce sustainable results.” The director of the AWAM, Nazia Sardar said, “Local government elections is due in Pakistan since 2009 and elections have been delayed by Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) led governments despite consensus on Charter of Democracy (COD), whose clause 10 calls for holding of local government elections. But the Punjab and Sindh governments avoided local government elections until the Supreme Court of Pakistan intervened, though Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan governments conducted direct elections on general and reserved seats as well.” A human rights activist, Naseem Anthony said, “After the promulgation of The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 on July 17, 2015 by the Governor of the Punjab, the Government of the Punjab has tabled The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2015 in the Punjab Assembly on August 27, 2015 to amend the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013) to fill the reserved seats in a Union Council through indirect elections. The proposed bill is unconstitutional and undemocratic, which curtails the rights of the public to democratic and efficient governance, and prevents the effective representation of weaker segments of the society in the local government system.” “The only solution to sustainable, political and economic stability lies in the strengthening of our institutions, which is only possible if we let democracy survive without any interference,” he added. A member of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), Shazia George said, “The ultimate goal of any democratic system is to empower people, especially the weaker sections of the society, but it is pity that indirect elections at the lowest tier of democratic set up will debar the marginalized groups from participating in the practical politics through canvassing, and contribute to their political disempowerment.” “The upcoming local government election due to imposed indirect mode of election on reserved seats will remain bereft of credibility without the effective participation of marginalized groups, and it will also affect the independence of the electoral process, and pave the way for horse trading,” she added. A social activist, Irshad Parkash said, “Democracy is a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of the people to determine their political, economic, social and cultural systems and ensure their full participation in different spheres of life. The ability of people to raise their voices and decide how they are governed lies at the heart of democracy.” A political worker, Arif Ayaz said, “The candidates selected for reserved seats through indirect mode of election will be representatives of their political parties rather than the public, so they are not supposed to put the interests of the groups they supposedly represent above the interests of their parties. Therefore, local government polls be held directly on reserved seats to ensure that true representatives of the vulnerable groups are elected to address their issues, who carry public support and independent vote bank.” A labor rights activist, Abdul Mannaf said, “The local government system is the basic unit of the democracy and the democratic process will remain incomplete and meaningless unless local governments and representation of the vulnerable groups is strengthened. After the passage of 18th constitutional amendment, it is the responsibility of the provincial government to play their role for devolution of power to districts through local government system. The strengthening of local governments requires both, constitutional protection as well as a change in mindset of the provincial governments to devolve powers at the district, tehsil and union council levels through national finance commission.” A social activist, Nasreen Bukhari said, “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan governments have opted for direct electoral system on reserved seats at the union council level. It is sad that the voters in Punjab will have no direct say in electing councilors on reserved seats, who already are not eligible to cast vote in favor of MPAs and MNAs on reserved seats in general elections, therefore, denial of their right to cast vote in favor of councilors on reserved seats in local government elections, will cause voters to lose their confidence in democratic system, and leave a perception that political system has nothing to offer for the empowerment and mainstreaming of weaker groups.”