Citizen participation for the effectiveness of local governance system: A quantitative study of local health and sanitation sectors

The current study is designed to explore the level of Citizens' Participation (CP) in the local governance system of Pakistan. The paper presents evidence from a case study of the health and sanitation sectors of a district by employing a quantitative research method. The techniques involve a survey conducted with 367 citizens of Pakistan. The paper has examined the relationship between indicators of CP (transparency, empowerment, and accountability) and effectiveness of local governance systems with the mediating role of local bureaucracy's efficacy and the moderating role of the influence of locally elected politicians. The findings have shown that CP has a very strong relationship with the effectiveness of local governance systems. The results revealed that transparency, empowerment, and accountability have a positive relationship with the efficiency of the local governance system. Overall, our study suggests that there are strong implications for citizens' participation as it increases the effectiveness of local governance systems with a particular reference to the local health and sanitation system.