ISLAMABAD:
In a major development, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered the holding of local government elections in Punjab in the last week of December 2025, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act, 2022.
A four-member bench of the Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and including Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi and Babar Hassan Bharwana, issued the directive after hearing the long-pending case on delay in Punjab local government elections.
The Punjab government’s special secretary for local government appeared before the five-member ECP bench.
According to the commission’s directive, the delimitation process in Punjab will begin on Thursday and is expected to conclude within two months, paving the way for local government elections at the end of the year.
During the proceedings, CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja expressed his displeasure over the criticism directed at the election commission for the delay in holding the LG elections and commented, “It is shameful for us that elections have not been held in Islamabad and Punjab yet.”
Earlier, the ECP had reserved its verdict in the Punjab local government elections case, and the CEC promised to announce it later in the day, Wednesday.
ECP officials said the tenure of Punjab local bodies ended on December 31, 2021, with no elections being held for over three years. During this time, the provincial government made five amendments to the local government act and a sixth is in the works.
Despite three phases of delimitation and an officially declared timetable, local government elections are yet to be held. Officials said the Local Government Act 2022 remains in force, allowing elections to be conducted through EVMs or ballot papers.
The DG Act confirmed that there are no legal barriers to holding elections under the 2022 rules. The ECP special secretary stated that delimitation in Punjab would take between two and two and a half months and should begin immediately, cautioning that the Supreme Court had warned against further delays.
The Punjab government said its standing committee approved the new local government law on August 6, but floods and the lack of an assembly session delayed its approval. The bill will be presented in the next session.
