Who Makes the Decisions? The Bureaucrats or the Elected Leaders?

Another aspect that colours the experience of the local elections is the tension between bureaucratic control and elected representation. While councillors are elected, the administration is run by national/state-level bureaucrats. This leads to a strange paradox: citizens think that they are electing representatives who will carry out actions that represent their aspirations. However, most critical actions in their cities, such as land acquisitions, infrastructure projects, and transport policies, get driven by bureaucratic orders rather than public mandates.