The Punjab local government elections face yet another delay. The Punjab government has proposed holding the province’s long-awaited polls in three phases in April next year, setting aside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s proposed December schedule.
The Punjab cabinet on Wednesday approved the recommendation of its ministerial committee to hold the polls on April 4, 11 and 18, 2027, all of them Sundays. The Local Government and Community Development Department wrote to the ECP on Wednesday conveying the decision.
The proposal emerged on Thursday despite the ECP having earlier proposed holding the Punjab local government elections on December 14 and sending a draft schedule to the Punjab chief secretary for consultation.
Punjab local government elections: smog, fog and Ramazan cited
The letter to the ECP cited smog, dense fog and adverse winter weather expected in December and January, followed by the start of Ramazan in February, as reasons against the December schedule.
The cabinet’s ministerial committee held its second meeting on October 5 and deliberated on the ECP’s draft schedule, weighing the risks of harsh weather and the Ramazan period. The committee concluded that phased polling would allow effective deployment of election staff and security personnel, efficient transportation of polling materials, better administrative oversight and improved voter accessibility.
The cabinet decided that the allocation of districts across the three phases would be worked out with the ECP in a dedicated meeting, keeping in view administrative, logistical, security and geographical considerations as well as the weather.
A decade of delay
The last Punjab local government elections were held in 2015, with polling in phases between October and December, and elected councils taking office in 2017. The PTI government dissolved the elected local bodies in April 2019 before their term ended; the Supreme Court struck the move down and restored them, and they completed their term on December 31, 2021.
Since then, successive provincial governments have repeatedly amended or replaced the Punjab Local Government Act, forcing the ECP to restart preparations each time, including delimitation and election planning.
Under Article 140A of the Constitution and the Elections Act, local government elections should be held within 120 days of the expiry of local bodies’ terms. With the councils’ term ending in December 2021, fresh polls were due by April 2022. They have been postponed again and again.
The Punjab cabinet had approved Rs12.5 billion for the exercise on August 6. The ECP maintained at its October 5 meeting that it was prepared to hold the polls across the province.
Local polls finally moving elsewhere
While Punjab’s councils remain on hold, local-government work is advancing in the federal capital, where Islamabad’s 130 union councils were finalised after delimitation objections were dismissed.
The question now is whether April 2027 will hold or join the long list of abandoned deadlines. For now, the ECP and the Punjab government must still agree on the district-wise phasing, and the federal election body’s own preparedness for December sits uneasily next to the province’s demand for delay.
Frequently asked questions
When will Punjab’s local government elections be held?
The Punjab government has proposed three phases on April 4, 11 and 18, 2027, all Sundays. The dates still require agreement with the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Why does Punjab want to delay the LG polls to April?
The government cited smog, dense fog and adverse winter weather in December and January, followed by Ramazan in February, as reasons against the ECP’s proposed December 14 schedule.
When were the last Punjab LG elections held?
The last Punjab local government elections were held in phases between October and December 2015. The elected councils took office in 2017 and completed their term on December 31, 2021.
What does the Constitution say about LG elections?
Article 140A of the Constitution and the Elections Act require local government elections within 120 days of the expiry of local bodies’ terms. Punjab’s polls were due by April 2022.
