ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday decided to hold the local government elections in Punjab in December this year, the officials confirmed.
The decision was taken by a four-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja following a hearing regarding delays in Punjab’s local body polls. According to the ECP, the elections will be held in the last week of December under the 2022 Local Government Act.
The ECP has directed that the delimitation of constituencies be completed within two months, and officials have already begun working on the process.
During the hearing, ECP Secretary Umar Hameed and other senior officials briefed the bench, stating that while the ECP successfully conducted local elections in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and cantonment boards, all provincial governments, particularly Punjab, caused repeated delays and obstacles in holding local body elections, which are a constitutional responsibility.
The ECP officials highlighted that Punjab’s local bodies’ tenure expired on December 31, 2021, and elections have not been held for over three years and nine months. During this period, the provincial government amended the local government law five times, and a sixth amendment is currently underway. Despite three rounds of delimitation and an announced election schedule, the polls could not be conducted.
It was further noted that the 2022 Local Government Act is still in force and elections can be held under its provisions, either through EVMs or ballot papers. The DG Law confirmed that there are no legal obstacles to holding the elections under the 2022 rules.
The Special Secretary of the ECP said that delimitation for Punjab elections would take two to two-and-a-half months, and progress must begin immediately. He added that the Supreme Court has already warned of serious consequences in case of further delays.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja remarked that the delay of over three years and nine months in Punjab’s local elections is a matter of embarrassment for both the ECP and successive governments. He emphasized that if a government genuinely does not wish to hold local polls, it should amend the Constitution to eliminate the need for local government, but until the law is changed, the ECP is constitutionally obliged to implement it.
The Punjab government stated that its standing committee cleared the new local government law on August 6, but its approval was delayed due to floods and the absence of an assembly session. The government assured that the bill would be presented in the next assembly session.
The chief election commissioner also criticized claims by a federal minister suggesting that delays are due to the ECP, stressing that the real delays are caused by governments themselves. He said the ECP must now exercise its constitutional authority and announce the elections.
Following the hearing, the ECP reserved its decision, which is expected to be announced any time soon, after which the delimitation process in Punjab will commence immediately.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court is scheduled to hear Jamaat-e-Islami’s petition regarding the local government elections on October 14, to which the ECP has to respond.
