Election Commission accepts the province’s request to avoid fog, after earlier proposing Dec. 14; KP’s local polls are halted under a federal order suspending Article 140A.
LAHORE: Punjab will hold the first phase of local government elections on Feb. 7, 2027, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ordered on Thursday, setting a date for polls in a province that has had no elected local councils since its last vote in 2015.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja accepted a request from the Punjab chief secretary to hold the elections in phases and to schedule polling after Jan. 20 because of fog and other weather conditions, according to the commission’s short order. The ECP had earlier proposed Dec. 14.
The commission said it was obliged under Articles 140A and 219(d) of the Constitution and the Elections Act 2017 to hold local elections in every province, and that ensuring fair polls with a level playing field for all candidates was its responsibility. It directed its secretariat to act on the decision.
ECP shifting local polls timetable
The provincial government had first told the ECP in writing that it was ready to hold the elections between Dec. 15, 2026 and Jan. 15, 2027, the chief secretary said at the hearing, according to reports. A Punjab cabinet committee later recommended April 2027, citing smog, dense fog, Ramadan and the unavailability of teachers, who staff polling stations. The ECP rejected the April proposal, and on Thursday the province asked for January or February instead.
Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique appeared before the commission. An ECP member pointed out that the province had earlier suggested April, reports said.
Minute Mirror reported that the remaining phases would be completed within February. The ECP’s order did not publish the full phase schedule.
Under Article 140A, provinces must devolve political, administrative and financial authority to elected local governments, and elections are due within 120 days of local bodies’ terms ending. Punjab’s councils elected in 2015 were dissolved in 2019, and successive governments have repeatedly amended or replaced the Punjab Local Government Act, delays that Dawn noted contributed significantly to the postponement of polls.
Without elected councils, cities such as Lahore are run by administrators. Residents’ complaints about rubbish, drainage and stray dogs go to officials rather than to an elected councillor, and the provincial government has had to order local government officers to visit districts every week.
Parties are already preparing. The PMML pressed the ECP for a date last month, and the PML-N, PPP, PTI and PML-Q have begun preparing for the polls, reports said.
KP local polls halted
The commission also suspended local elections in the remaining districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until further orders. It said a federal government order suspending Article 140A in the province made holding them no longer possible.
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