ISLAMABAD:
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday set July 1 as the deadline for authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Islamabad to submit long-pending maps, notifications and other data needed to move ahead with local government (LG) elections.
The commission summoned senior officials from both administrations to explain the long delays.
Chairing a high-level meeting at the ECP Secretariat, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sikandar Sultan Raja, along with members of the commission, ECP secretary and senior officials, reviewed the preparations for the local government elections in Islamabad, Punjab and KP.
Expressing displeasure over the pace of progress, the commission directed the KP chief secretary, local government secretary, Islamabad chief commissioner and deputy commissioner to appear before it on July 1 after providing all pending documents.
The commission expressed particular concern over the KP government’s failure to provide required maps and related data for 15 districts despite repeated requests.
Invoking Article 220 of the Constitution, which obliges the executive authorities to assist the ECP in the performance of its constitutional functions, the commission ordered notifications to be sent to the KP principal secretary and the local government secretary.
Both officials have been ordered to submit the necessary maps and data before the next hearing on July 1 and to personally explain the reasons for the delay.
The commission was also informed that the issue regarding delimitation of municipal corporations and notification of number of union councils (UCs) in each municipal corporation of Islamabad had already been sent to the federal cabinet for approval.
However, even though the case is before the cabinet, the ECP is yet to be provided with the required notifications and maps. Accordingly, the commission also posted the Islamabad case for hearing on July 1 and issued notices to the chief commissioner and deputy commissioner of Islamabad.
For Punjab, the ECP directed its provincial office to complete all necessary preparations so that the election schedule could be announced immediately after completion of the delimitation exercise.
The commission noted that local government elections have faced repeated postponements across the country due to legal, administrative and procedural obstacles.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the term of local governments expired on March 15, 2026. According to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, elected local representatives serve a four-year term.
According to Article 140-A of the Constitution and Article 219(4) of the Electoral Law, new local government elections were required within 120 days, meaning they should have been held by the end of April 2022.
However, repeated amendments to the provincial local government law prevented the process from moving forward.
