Pakistan to hold long-delayed Punjab local elections in December

Pakistan’s top election body announced on Wednesday that long-delayed local government elections in Punjab province will be held in December, ending nearly four years without elected local representatives in the country’s most populous region.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finalized the decision in a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, who underscored the constitutional duty to restore elected local bodies.

ECP officials said preparations were already underway, with the delimitation of constituencies beginning immediately and expected to conclude within two months. The elections will be held under the 2022 Local Government Act.

While local government elections have already been completed in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and cantonment areas, Punjab’s process has repeatedly stalled due to legislative amendments and administrative setbacks.

The ECP noted that since the expiry of local bodies’ tenure in December 2021, the Punjab government has amended its local governance law five times, with a sixth amendment still pending. These changes, coupled with multiple rounds of delimitation and previously withdrawn schedules, have kept the electoral process in limbo.

Chief Election Commissioner Raja voiced frustration over the repeated delays, saying that if provincial authorities no longer consider local governance a priority, they should seek to amend the Constitution instead of disregarding it. He also rejected claims that the ECP was responsible for the holdups, maintaining that the primary cause was provincial inaction.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court is set to hear a related petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami on October 14, for which the ECP has been directed to submit a response.