ECP issues delimitation schedule for Punjab local government elections

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday released the schedule for delimitation of union councils in Punjab, moving forward on the long-pending process required before local government elections can be held in the province.

Delimitation is a legal requirement for conducting local government polls. After the final list of constituencies is issued, the ECP will be able to announce the election schedule for Punjab’s local bodies.

In a notification issued under Article 222(b) of the Constitution, along with relevant provisions of the Elections Act 2017, the Punjab Local Government Act 2025 and the Delimitation Rules 2026, the commission set out a seven-stage timetable to complete the exercise by August 10.

Under the schedule, all administrative arrangements for delimitation of union councils are to be completed by April 16. The preliminary list of constituencies will be prepared from April 20 to May 21 and published on May 25.

Objections to the delimitation may be submitted from May 26 to June 23, while all such objections are to be decided by July 22. Final decisions will be conveyed to delimitation committees by August 4, and the final list of constituencies will be published on August 10.

Administrative boundaries frozen

In a separate but related development, the ECP also ordered an immediate halt to any changes in administrative boundaries in Punjab until the delimitation process for union councils is completed.

According to the commission’s notification, the boundaries of all existing administrative units, including town corporations, municipal committees and tehsil councils, will stand ceased forthwith.

The ECP invoked Article 218(3) of the Constitution and Section 219(6) of the Elections Act, 2017 for the restriction. It said the step was necessary because delimitation of union councils must take into account the existing boundaries of districts, tehsils, halqas, Patwar circles and revenue estates. Any alteration in these units during the process would hamper smooth proceedings, the notification said.

Background to the delay

The issue of local government elections in Punjab has remained unresolved for several years and dates back to 2019. In April of that year, the then PTI-led Punjab government dissolved local government institutions. Those bodies were later restored by the Supreme Court and subsequently completed their term on December 31, 2021.

Under Article 140-A of the Constitution and Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, the ECP is required to hold elections within 120 days after the expiry of the term of local government institutions. On that basis, local government elections in Punjab were due by the end of April 2022. However, that did not happen as the provincial government continued making changes to the local government law from time to time.

On October 8 last year, the ECP had ordered local government polls in December 2025 and directed Punjab to immediately begin the delimitation exercise and complete it within two months. That decision was later reversed at a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on October 21, 2025 after the Punjab government requested reconsideration in light of the promulgation of the Punjab Local Government Act 2025.

The commission then withdrew its earlier delimitation schedule, which had been issued under the 2022 local government law, and gave the provincial government four weeks to finalise delimitation and demarcation rules.

Later, on October 31, 2025, the ECP said local government elections in Punjab would not be possible before the second quarter of 2026 because the prerequisites for holding the exercise would not be in place during the year.