Election Commission ready for Punjab LG polls

Legal, administrative snags delay polls in Islamabad, K-P, Quetta, cantonments

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Monday it was ready to hold local government (LG) elections in Punjab

However, the electoral watcheog said legal and administrative complications were continuing to hold up polls in Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Quetta and the cantonment boards.

The assessment was made at a special meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja to take stock of preparations for LG elections across the provinces, the federal capital and the cantonments.

The commission reviewed the province-wise progress of the exercise.

According to an ECP statement, preparations in Punjab had reached the stage where the commission was ready to proceed with the elections and had already sent a draft election schedule to the provincial government.

The commission has also sought lists of district returning officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers to facilitate their appointments, and asked the Punjab government to respond to the proposed schedule at the earliest.

In Sindh, the ECP said preparations had also begun for holding local body elections on time, with instructions issued to its relevant office to take all necessary steps.

In Islamabad, delimitation has been completed, but the Islamabad Capital Territory Amendment Ordinance 2026 has lapsed, the meeting was informed.

The ECP said a National Assembly Standing Committee had already approved legislation in line with the ordinance. It therefore decided to approach the federal government for the "immediate completion of legislation".

However, in the event that the legislation was not completed, the commission said it would proceed with the elections under the existing Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015.

The ECP was also told that delimitation in all cantonments had been completed and that it was ready to conduct local body polls there.

However, the amended Cantonments Act requires the federal government to make a formal request to the ECP for holding the elections under Section 19-D.

"Despite reminders and a letter from the chief election commissioner to the prime minister, no request had been received," the statement said.

"The ECP decided to write a final letter to the Ministry of Defence, failing which it would take an appropriate decision regarding holding of elections".

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the ECP recalled that delimitation had been completed in 23 districts and was in progress in seven others when the provincial government amended Section 6 of the K-P Local Government Act 2013.

The amendment increased the population threshold for village and neighbourhood councils from 5,000-15,000 to 30,000-40,000.

In Balochistan, the ECP noted that the term of the local government institutions would expire on Feb 8, 2027. However, it said LG elections in Quetta could not be held despite orders of the Federal Constitutional Court.

The commission said it had completed delimitation on May 21, 2026, in compliance with the court's order, but the provincial government subsequently bifurcated Quetta into two districts without providing details of the new boundaries and other required data.