LG polls face uncertainty

ECP issues lengthy schedule for 220 new UCs under Local Government Act 2025

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi District Election Commission has initiated implementation of the delimitation schedule for 220 newly formed union councils under the Local Government Act 2025, raising doubts about the timely conduct of local government elections in 2026.

The commission has sought maps of urban and rural local government boundaries from the deputy commissioner and additional deputy commissioner (revenue), which will be provided within the current week. Each union council will be formed on a population of 22,000 to 25,000.

The preliminary list of union councils will be prepared from April 20 to May 21 and published on May 25.

Objections can be filed from May 26 to June 23, while hearings and decisions will continue until July 27. The final list of 220 union councils will be issued by August 10, after which appeals can be filed in the Rawalpindi Bench of the High Court.

Due to the lengthy schedule, holding local government elections by December 31 appears difficult. The District Council Rawalpindi has been abolished, and the district has been divided into 17 local government units, including two town corporations, five municipal committees, six tehsil councils, and four cantonment boards. Two new tehsil councils and one new municipal committee have been added.

Rawalpindi city has been divided into four parts - two municipal towns and two tehsil councils - with two mayors and four deputy mayors. The city has been split into Rawal Municipal Town and Potohar Municipal Town.

The number of union councils in Rawal Town has been reduced from 46 to 41, and in Potohar Town from 36 to 33, reducing eight union councils overall.

Two new tehsil councils - Rawalpindi Sadar with 22 union councils and Rawalpindi Cantonment with 29 - have been created.