ECP proposes Dec 14 for Punjab LG elections

LAHORE: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has proposed December 14 as the polling date for local government elections in Punjab and sent a draft schedule to the provincial chief secretary for consultation.

Under the proposed schedule, candidates will be able to file nomination papers from October 27 to 30, while scrutiny of the papers will be conducted from November 2 to 5.

Appeals against acceptance or rejection of nomination papers can be filed from November 7 to 11 and will be decided by election tribunals between November 12 and 16.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature has been proposed as November 18, followed by publication of the final list of candidates on November 19.

Election symbols will be allotted to contesting candidates on November 20, according to the draft schedule.

Polling has been proposed to be held across Punjab on December 14, with returning officers scheduled to announce the results by December 17.

The ECP has sought the Punjab government’s views on the proposed timeline, meaning the schedule is not yet final. The final programme will be notified after approval by the commission.

The development comes as the ECP reviews preparations for local government elections across the country.

Earlier, the Punjab government had centralised data on union councils across the province ahead of long-delayed local government elections, declaring 6,600 union councils in 41 districts under the Punjab Local Government Act 2025.

According to Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique, the province has been divided into 2,496 urban and 4,104 rural union councils, with the data on the new divisions uploaded to a centralised system.

In August, the ECP and the Punjab government had agreed to hold local government elections in the province between December 15, 2026 and January 15, 2027.

According to the commission, it is fully prepared to hold local government elections in Punjab and has sought lists of district returning officers from the provincial government.

The last local government elections in Punjab were held in 2015, while the elected councils assumed office in 2017.

The tenure of Punjab’s local governments expired in December 2021, and subsequent attempts to hold fresh elections have faced delays amid changes to the provincial local government laws.

The ECP has also reviewed preparations for local government elections in Islamabad and the cantonments.

The delimitation process for local government elections in Islamabad has been completed, while delimitation for cantonments has also been completed, according to the commission.

The commission directed the relevant authorities to complete the necessary legal, administrative and election-related arrangements in time to facilitate the conduct of local government elections.