Political Empowerment and Local Governance:Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013

Abstract

In recent era, the process of Local government is significant for smooth democratic transition and political and economic resource allocation at the local level. This study highlights the prevailing mechanism of Political decision making of the Local Representatives under the “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013”. The study also focuses on the empowerment of the local representatives with respect to distribution of funds and the influences they get at the provincial and federal level. Conclusions were drawn based on data collected from local representatives regarding their political decision making and fiscal dependency. The data was further described through themes. Each theme explains the Political empowerment and Economic decision-making indicators. The results show that extra-legal intervention, political and Cultural interventions hinder Political leverage while inadequate due financial share, choice in spending and dependency on supplementary support hinders the fiscal choices of local representatives.