ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts where the delimitation of constituencies has been completed.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja announced the reserved verdict after hearing a case concerning delays in holding local government elections in the province. The commission is expected to issue the election schedule soon, with a formal announcement anticipated within the next 24 hours.
The commission has maintained that elections can proceed in districts where the delimitation process has been completed, despite the provincial government’s concerns over law and order and the imposition of the governor’s rule. The ECP has been pressing the provincial government to remove legal and administrative hurdles that have delayed the polls.
The verdict comes weeks after the ECP proposed December 14 as the polling date for local government elections in Punjab and sent a draft schedule to the provincial chief secretary for consultation.
Background
The last local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were held in two phases. The first phase took place on December 19, 2021, in 17 districts, while the second phase was held on March 31, 2022. The elections were delayed by nearly two years following changes to provincial local government laws and related legal proceedings.
The terms of the elected local governments expired in March and June 2026, respectively, leaving the province without elected local bodies after their terms ended.
Under Article 140-A of the Constitution, provinces are required to establish local governments and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility to elected representatives. Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017, requires the ECP to hold local government elections within 120 days of the expiry of a local government’s term.
In July 2026, the ECP began consultations with the provincial government to determine election dates in 23 districts where delimitation had been completed. The provincial administration had assured the commission of its cooperation in arranging the polls. However, subsequent amendments to the provincial local government law increased the population threshold for village and neighbourhood councils, complicating the delimitation process. The ECP said the revised thresholds conflicted with the number of councils specified in the relevant legal schedule.
The provincial government later sought to defer elections in 12 districts, citing security concerns, the emergency imposed on October 11 and the deployment of troops in certain areas. The ECP questioned why elections could not be held in districts where delimitation had already been completed, arguing that the emergency did not automatically prevent the electoral process from proceeding.
The dispute has prolonged uncertainty over the restoration of elected local governments in the province. Earlier, the ECP empowered the district returning officer (DRO) and returning officers (ROs) appointed for Islamabad’s local government elections with the powers of first-class magistrates, enabling them to take legal action against election-related offences.
