Christian Democratic Party (CDP) chairman Ben-Hur Yousaf Gill on Friday announced the categorical boycott of the “discriminatory” local government elections in the Punjab.In a statement issued on Friday, the CDP chief said the elections would remain bereft of credibility without the participation of the nation’s religious minorities. He said the imposed “selection not election” of religious minorities on reserved seats in the polls did not bode well for aspiring non-Muslim leaders. Gill said it was unfortunate that challenges confronting religious minorities were not even considered national issues. He said the discriminatory nature of the local government electoral system amounted to a conspiracy against the nation’s peaceful and patriotic Christians.Gill said the local bodies electoral system was discriminatory, ineffective and a flagrant violation of Article 226 of the Constitution. “The elections will create more political and social slaves by ensuring that the self-styled representatives of religious minorities remain at the mercy of their political overlords,” he said. Gill said the electoral system also flouted Articles 140-A and 36 of the Constitution. The reserved seats for minorities will be filled at the discretion of the chairman, vice-chairman and general councillors. The process is highly centralised and susceptible to corruption. The Punjab government does not seem to care about the challenges the minorities have been facing for so many years in the country. Minority leaders have accused political parties of nepotism while awarding party tickets for contesting elections to those who are elected every time even when they do not serve their own community members. The selected candidates on reserved seats through indirect elections only represent their concerned political parties and protect their interests rather than addressing the issues of the marginalised groups. The pitfalls of this system have become obvious and need to be rectified on an immediate basis. Minorities are already facing many problems in society. They do not have equal rights, are often subjected to injustice, and come under attack on the pretext of mere allegations. The exclusion of minorities from the direct electoral process is against the basic principles of democracy. Minorities, women, youth and peasants equally feel deprived and sidelined in Punjab as they have been deprived of their right to elect their true representatives since long. It is an attempt to prevent political empowerment of marginalised groups, and discourage independent candidates from contesting elections. It is discriminatory and undemocratic to stop anybody from taking part in direct elections. The political parties should support the Christian Democratic Party and force the Punjab government to give equal rights to minorities to elect their local representatives so that their civic problems could also be addressed. Minorities must have a say in the election of the candidates on reserved seats in local body elections, who already are denied the right to cast votes in favour of MPAs and MNAs on reserved seats in the general elections.
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