Union councils of Pakistan

The union councils of Pakistan (Urdu: یونین کونسل), referred to as village councils in villages, are elected local government bodies consisting of 21 councillors, and headed by a Nazim, which is equivalent to a mayor or chairperson, plus a Naib Nazim (vice chairperson). As of 2007, there are 5,375 rural union councils across 115 districts.^[1] They form the third-tier of local government and fifth tier overall in Pakistan's administrative structure. The structure and responsibilities of union councils differ across provinces and territories of the country.

Administration

Union councils are the primary governmental institution in Pakistan. They are often known as "village councils" in rural areas. The territory represented by a village council usually comprises a large village and surrounding areas, often including nearby small villages. The term "union council" may be used for localities that are part of cities. The territory of a union council or village council is a component and subdivision of a tehsil (township).

Headed by a Union Nazim, each union council has 13 elected members or councillors. In addition to four male and two female members elected directly, there are two male and two female representatives of the labour, a minority member, a Union Nazim, and his deputy, known as Union Naib Nazim. Besides elected members, there are several government employees and functionaries in every union council, who report to the secretary of the union council. The latter is a civil servant appointed by the state. The addition of seats for minority members and special interests was implemented in part due to people not wanting to run for election when the union council system was first implemented.^[2]

Union councils perform numerous functions including levying taxes,^[2] building infrastructure,^[3] and acting as an alternative dispute resolution system.^[4]

Structure

Shown below is a simplified structure of the political hierarchy, the federal government governs the provinces (allocation of resources and policy decisions), the provinces govern the districts etc , the union councils are involved directly in local government administration.

Federal government

Province

District

Tehsil

Union Council

Example

For example Abbottabad District in Khyber Pakhtunkwa province is made up of four tehsils: Abbottabad, Havelian, Lower Tanawal and Lora in this example only Lora and three of its Union Councils are shown^[5]^[6]