ISLAMABAD: Deflecting criticism over its decision to delay long-overdue local government polls in Punjab, the Election Commission of Pakis­tan (ECP) on Thursday said it was bound to hold elections in accordance with the rules and laws of the province.

Under Article 140-A of the Constitution, every provincial government was mandated to make its own local government law and frame rules and regulations thereunder, while the ECP was bound to hold elections in accordance with the laws and rules of the province under Section 219 of the Elections Act, 2017, an ECP spokesperson said on Thursday.

He noted that after the enforcement of the Local Government Act, 2025 by the Punjab government, the Lo­­cal Government Act, 2022, has been repealed. “How can the Election Commission conduct elections under a repealed law?” he questioned.

After the Local Government Act, 2025, was passed, he made it clear that it was legally inevitable for the Election Commission to withdraw the schedule of delimitations issued under the previous law.

The spokesperson reiterated that the ECP has given the provincial government four weeks to complete the rules of delimitation and demarcation, after which the schedule for delimitation will be given immediately and elections will be held after completion of delimitation work.

Under Article 140-A of the Constitution and Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, the ECP is bound to hold elections within 120 days of the expiry of the term of the local government institutions.

In April 2019, the then PTI-led Punjab government had dissolved the local government institutions, which were later restored by the Supreme Court, and subsequently completed their term on Dec 31, 2021.

That means elections were supposed to take place some three years ago, but this could not happen as the provincial government kept on amending the LG law from time to time.

When contacted, Pakistan Institute of Legislative Deve­lopment and Transparency (Pildat) chief Ahmad Bilal Mehboob endorsed the ECP’s viewpoint, saying that after the passage of the 2025 law, it became necessary to conduct elections under the fresh legislation.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2025