The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided on Wednesday to hold long-delayed local government (LG) elections in Punjab in the last week of December, the process of delimitation for which would be started tomorrow and completed within two months.
The order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was issued by a four-member ECP bench.
It stated that the ECP had “decided to hold the local government elections in the province of Punjab on basis of the existing local government law i.e. the Punjab Local Government Act 2022 and Rules framed thereunder. The office (ECP) is directed to initiate the process of delimitation from tomorrow and shall further complete it within two months. Thereafter, the election programme should be announced and the election should be held in the last week of December, 2025.”
The order said that the “office is expected to follow the timelines strictly”.
LG polls in Punjab have been delayed since local government institutions in the province completed their term in December 2021. On September 30, state-run APP reported that the ECP expressed “deep disappointment over the prolonged delay in Punjab’s local government elections” and summoned the Punjab LG secratary in a personal capacity for a full-bench hearing today.
The order issued after the hearing stated that the bench comprised ECP Chairperson Sikandar Sultan Raja and three of its members, Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi and Babar Hassan Bharwana.
More to follow
