Federal Election Commission

Local governments are one of the key components of government structure and provide an organized system for administration at the grass-root level. Stable local governments are the need of hour and should be vocalized in the policy arena. Literature on local government institutions in Pakistan mostly focused on their performance shortcomings for effective service delivery. Fewer efforts have been made to assess the legislation that provides the power and functioning framework to the local government institutions. This study tries to find out whether the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 has the potential to devolve the authority in the true sense or otherwise. It highlights the importance to take the first step right apropos of devolution of powers at the grass-root level. Conclusions have been drawn by studying legislation, interviewing experts and local representatives about their expectations and assessment of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019. It may be deduced on the basis of this research that Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 is decentralized in terms of administrative structure but remains highly centralized in terms of administrative autonomy. Specific allocation of funds is a step forward, but its implementation is necessary for growth and development at the local level. However, the operational mechanism is very complicated that is likely to cause friction among different departments and tiers of the government. There is a need to reconsider the local governments’ legislation for making it nearer to the aspirations of general public. Autonomous local government institutions can induce inclusiveness and cooperation, especially in diversified Pakistan. Keywords: Local Government, Devolution, Punjab, Pakistan.

The authors compare the legal and administrative challenges of campaign finance disclosure regimes in the United States and the Republic of India. While the two countries' campaign finance laws differ markedly, they share the goal of timely and accurate disclosure of campaigns' financial activities. However, the two countries have encountered different obstacles to the realization of this goal. The authors discuss the responses to these obstacles, and examine how the different approaches taken by the United States and India reflect each country's distinct legal culture, broader treatment of election issues, and prior experience with campaign finance regulation.

The interaction between the competition policy and regulatory reform has attracted the attention of specialists and policymakers in recent years. The topics covered include the interface between competition and the regulatory authorities (the division of labour and coordination mechanisms) and the antitrust enforcement experience in the regulated sectors, among others. This paper adds to the discussion by analysing the recent changes, touching upon the interface between the competition authority and the sectoral regulators in Mexico. It focuses, in particular, on the amendments derived from the 2006 reform to the competition law and their policy implications in terms of antitrust enforcement in Mexico and sets them in the international context.