Election Commission begins consultations with K-P on LG polls

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has formally launched consultations with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to determine the date for local government elections in 23 districts, with both sides agreeing to hold another round of talks in 15 days before finalising the poll schedule.

The development came at a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja at the ECP Secretariat on Tuesday, where the commission said delimitation in all 23 districts had been completed and it was fully prepared to conduct the elections.

The K-P government, meanwhile, assured the commission of its full cooperation in making arrangements for the polls.

The meeting was attended by members of the Election Commission, the ECP secretary, the K-P chief secretary, the provincial local government secretary and senior ECP officials.

The tenure of local governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expired on March 15 this year. Under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, elected local representatives serve a four-year term.

According to an ECP press release, the chief election commissioner underscored the constitutional importance of local governments, saying the holding of local body elections was mandatory under Article 140-A of the Constitution.

"Under Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP is bound to hold local government elections within 120 days of the expiry of the term of local governments," he was quoted as saying.

The commission was informed that the terms of local government institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had expired on March 14 and June 19, 2026, respectively.

The ECP told the meeting that the delimitation process in the province's 23 districts had been completed and that it was "fully prepared" to conduct the elections.

The commission also reiterated that consultation with the provincial government was a legal prerequisite before announcing the election schedule.