ECP says ready to hold local government elections in 23 KP wards after completing delimitation
Election Commission of Pakistan building in Islamabad. Photo: Radio Pakistan
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday began consultations with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to fix the schedule for the long-delayed local government elections in 23 districts of the province.
The term of the LGs in the KP ended on March 15 this year. Under the KP Local Government Law of 2013, local representatives are elected for a four-year term.
According to a statement issued by the ECP spokesperson, the commission held an important meeting to discuss the electoral calendar. The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and attended by ECP members, ECP Secretary, KP Chief Secretary, Provincial Secretary for Local Government and other senior officials of the provincial government and the commission.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Election Commissioner underlined the importance of establishing local governments and said holding of local government elections was a constitutional requirement under Article 140 of the Constitution.
“According to Article 219(4) of the Electoral Law, the Electoral Commission is required to hold local government elections within 120 days of the expiration of the mandate of local governments,” he said.
The commission was informed that the mandate of local government institutions in KP had expired on March 14 and June 19, 2026, respectively.
The ECP was also informed that it had completed the delimitation process in all the 23 districts of the province and was fully prepared to hold elections there.
Read: ECP increases pressure on KP and Islamabad over LG polls
The commission said consultations were being held with representatives of the provincial government in accordance with Section 219 (3) of the Electoral Act and Rule 15 (1) of the KP Local Councils (Conduct of Elections) Rules 2021, so that the date of the elections for the 23 districts could be announced in accordance with the law.
Briefing the meeting, the KP chief secretary said the provincial government had received the ECP’s letter seeking consultation on the election schedule on July 8 and had immediately sent a summary to the provincial cabinet.
“We are administratively prepared to assist the Election Commission and make all necessary arrangements for the elections,” he said.
The ECP asked the chief secretary to provide the commission with a copy of the summary.
The meeting decided that consultations to fix the date of elections in the 23 districts would resume after 15 days, the ECP spokesperson said.
