The Election Commission of Pakistan says it is ready to hold local government elections in Punjab and has sent a draft election schedule to the provincial government, while legal and administrative issues continue to delay preparations in several other parts of the country.
The ECP reviewed local election preparations at a special meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, with commission members and senior officials attending.
For Punjab, officials told the meeting that the Election Commission was prepared to conduct local government polls.
The ECP has sent a draft election schedule to the Punjab government and asked the province to respond at the earliest opportunity.
It has also requested lists of officials who could be appointed as district returning officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers.
The development does not mean that a final Punjab local election date has been announced. The schedule sent to the provincial government remains a draft.
The ECP’s nationwide review found a more complicated position elsewhere.
In Islamabad, delimitation has been completed, but the Islamabad Capital Territory Amendment Ordinance 2026 has lapsed. A National Assembly standing committee has approved legislation corresponding to the ordinance, and the ECP said it would approach the federal government for its immediate completion.
The commission said that if the required legislation is not completed, it would proceed under the existing Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015.
The ECP also identified legal or administrative obstacles affecting local elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Quetta and cantonment boards.
Preparatory work has meanwhile begun in Sindh, with the commission directing its provincial office to take the steps needed for local elections to be held on time.
Local government elections are constitutionally significant because Article 140-A requires provinces to establish local government systems and devolve political, administrative and financial authority to elected local representatives.
The Election Commission is responsible for holding local government elections under the constitutional and statutory framework, while provincial legislation and administrative preparations determine important parts of how those elections are organised.
That division of responsibility helps explain why election readiness can vary considerably between provinces and territories.
The immediate development in Punjab is therefore procedural but important: the ECP says it is ready, a draft schedule has been sent to the provincial government, and election officials are being lined up.
The situation elsewhere remains less settled because legal and administrative matters still have to be resolved.
Until the ECP formally issues a final election programme, however, the Punjab development should not be reported as a confirmed polling date.