LEGAL FRAMEWORKS AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY: EVALUATING THE 2022 AJK LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS THROUGH AN INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE LENS

Abstract

Local government institutions are  an important element of the democratic government and political systems of participation. They offer citizen participation, accountability and decentralized decision making mechanisms. The 2022 Local Government elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was a new milestone with respect to the resurgence of grass root democracy in the State following a long hiatus of over three decades. This study assesses the legal, institutional, and political forces of local government elections in 2022 on the basis of an institutional framework of governance. The research design is based on mixed methods research design, which includes electoral data, institutional analysis and indicator of governance and analyzes voter participation, party competition, representation, and institutional capacity. The quantitative data (election outcomes and local participation) are supplemented with qualitative analysis of the legal framework of local government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The results indicate that despite the elections improving democratic participation and political competition, structural limitations like fiscal centralization, administrative dependency, and poor institutional autonomy make the local governance to be ineffective. This study finds that sustainable decentralization inAzad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) entail major changes in fiscal autonomy, law enforcement and institutional capacity building.