ECP Orders Local Elections in Delimited KP Districts

The Election Commission of Pakistan has ordered local government elections in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts where constituency delimitation is complete, while excluding areas governed through special administrative arrangements. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja announced the reserved decision in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The commission directed its office to prepare an election programme for the eligible districts and submit it for formal approval. Delimitation has reportedly been completed in 23 districts, allowing the electoral process to advance there after the terms of the previous local bodies expired earlier this year.

The decision does not immediately extend polling to all parts of the province. Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Mohmand, Orakzai and North Waziristan were excluded under a federal order issued on October 11, while seven additional districts covered by the Area Representative and Development Council arrangement remain outside the new delimitation schedule.

During the preceding hearing, the provincial government sought a delay in elections by referring to security concerns, emergency measures and the deployment of armed forces. ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal told the five-member bench that constituency boundaries had been finalised in 23 districts and that elections could proceed there through an official commission order.

The electoral body also instructed officials to launch delimitation work in districts where the process remains incomplete, subject to the exemptions. It ordered adjustments to village and neighbourhood councils and the determination of category-based reserved seats in relevant tehsil councils, including areas of Karak, Hangu, Swat, Bar Swat, Battagram, Paharpur and Allai.

The first phase of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s previous local governments completed its term in March 2026, while councils formed during the second phase reached the end of their tenure in June. The resulting vacancies have increased pressure on election authorities to restore elected representation at the municipal, village and neighbourhood levels.

The ruling comes amid an altered administrative environment in the province. Emergency measures and governor’s rule were proclaimed on October 11, after which responsibility for provincial affairs shifted to the governor with assistance from an advisory council. Parliament subsequently endorsed the measures during a joint sitting on October 15.

A separate Area Development Secretariat was also established to oversee administrative, development and security matters in 12 designated districts. The associated representative council covers Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan and the upper and lower districts of South Waziristan.

The commission’s decision creates a pathway for elections in areas where the necessary groundwork has been completed, but it also produces different electoral timelines across the province. The next significant step will be approval and publication of the election programme, which should clarify polling dates, nomination deadlines and the districts participating in the initial round.