Punjab local polls begin Feb 7 as ECP halts process in KP

The Election Commission of Pakistan has fixed February 7, 2027, for the first phase of Punjab’s local government elections while suspending preparations for comparable polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until further orders. The decisions establish different electoral timelines for the two provinces following proceedings held on Thursday.

A four-member commission bench led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja selected the Punjab polling date after considering a request from the provincial administration. The commission had previously proposed December 14, but Punjab officials sought a date after January 20 and asked that voting be conducted in phases.

Punjab’s chief secretary told the commission that the administration was prepared for the elections and had supplied the required information concerning returning officers and district returning officers. He nevertheless requested additional time for transportation arrangements and the preparation of school buildings that would serve as polling stations.

The provincial administration cited dense winter fog, limited daylight and associated transport difficulties as reasons for moving polling beyond the December-to-January period discussed earlier. Officials maintained that conditions generally improve after January 20 and said colder weather and shorter days could also discourage voters from reaching polling stations.

The commission accepted the request while referring to its constitutional responsibility to organise local government elections and provide a level playing field for candidates and voters. It directed its office to complete the necessary follow-up action for the first phase, though details concerning later phases were not announced in the reviewed material.

Punjab has not held local government elections since 2015. Councils elected through that process assumed office in 2017, were dissolved by the provincial government in April 2019 and were later restored by the Supreme Court. Their terms eventually expired on December 31, 2021, but subsequent legal changes, delimitation work and administrative delays repeatedly disrupted preparations for fresh elections.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the commission stopped all ongoing local-election preparations after reviewing a federal order extending the suspension of Article 140A of the Constitution across the province. The electoral body concluded that it could no longer continue the process in the remaining districts under the altered constitutional arrangement.

The commission had earlier planned polling across most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while excluding 12 districts facing heightened security challenges. Those plans have now been halted until further orders, leaving Punjab with a confirmed first-phase polling date and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without a new election timetable.