Local Government System in Punjab: Clientelism and Failed Devolution of Power (2015-19)

Pakistan is a federal republic with three administrative tiers: national, provincial, and local. The local Government system (LGS), the third tier, is viewed as a harbinger of democracy in developing economies including Pakistan. Since coming into power in 2008, democratically elected governments agreed to devolve power from federal level to provincial level, but slow-walked the formation of local governments until 2015—after an order by the Supreme Court of Pakistan was passed to conduct the election. In Punjab, the local government laws were more centrist, and relations between the local and provincial governments were explicitly asymmetrical. Although the LGS dissolved in Punjab in 2019, this article will attempt to explore the causes of the failed devolution of power (2015-2019). By particularly focusing on the "Punjab local Government Act 2013" and “Punjab Local Government Act 2019" and failure of devolution of power, this study will investigate a range of administrative and political issues in local governance in Punjab.