LAHORE: The Punjab government appears set to delay long-awaited local government elections once again, proposing three-phase polling in April 2027 instead of the Dec. 14 date suggested by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The provincial Local Government and Community Development Department wrote to the ECP on Wednesday to convey the Punjab cabinet's proposal to hold the elections in phases on April 4, 11 and 18, 2027. All three dates fall on Sundays.
Earlier this month, the ECP proposed holding the elections Dec. 14 and sent a draft schedule to the Punjab chief secretary for consultation.
The letter cited smog, dense fog and adverse winter weather expected in December and January, followed by the start of Ramazan in February, as reasons for not holding the vote as scheduled.
A ministerial committee formed to consult the ECP on the elections held its second meeting Oct. 5 and discussed the draft schedule at length, the letter said. The committee recommended phased polling to facilitate the deployment of election staff and security personnel, the transport of polling materials, administrative oversight and voter access.
The phased approach would also avoid the weather typically experienced in December and January and the period immediately after Ramazan, the letter said.
The cabinet considered the committee's recommendations early Wednesday and approved the three-phase proposal, according to the letter. It also decided that the allocation of districts among the phases should be discussed and agreed with the ECP in a dedicated meeting, taking into account administrative, logistical, security and geographical factors, as well as weather.
The ECP said at an Oct. 5 meeting that it was prepared to hold local government polls across the province. On Aug. 6, the Punjab cabinet approved 12.5 billion rupees for the elections.
The last local government elections in Punjab were held under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013. Polling took place in phases between October and December 2015, and elected councils took office in 2017 after indirect elections for mayors and chairpersons.
The previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government dissolved the elected local bodies in April 2019, before they had completed their terms. The Supreme Court later struck down the move and restored them. They completed their term Dec. 31, 2021.
Successive provincial governments have since amended or replaced the local government law, each time requiring the ECP to restart preparations, including delimitation and election planning. Those legal changes and administrative delays have contributed significantly to the postponements.
Under Article 140A of the Constitution and the Elections Act, local government elections must be held within 120 days of the expiry of the local bodies' terms. With the councils' terms ending in December 2021, elections were due by April 2022.
