The upcoming local government elections in Punjab are facing a significant setback as the provincial administration has informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the established timeline for preparations is unworkable, formally requesting a substantial extension that could postpone the process until 2026.
The development emerged from a high-level meeting of the Election Commission, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, convened specifically to review the state of readiness for the local government polls in the province.
During the session, the Punjab government officially declared the previously allotted four-week period for finalizing delimitation rules as insufficient. According to sources within the ECP, the provincial administration has now appealed for an additional two and a half months to conclude the critical task.
This request effectively seeks to have the delimitation process completed by January 2026, a considerable delay from the original schedule.
In their reasoning, Punjab’s Chief Secretary and the Secretary for Local Government maintained that completing the complex delimitation process across a province of Punjab’s size and complexity is not feasible within the initial four-week timeframe.