LAHORE: The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday approved an allocation of Rs12.52bn for holding local government elections in the province, paving the way for long delayed devolution of power to the grassroots.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz chaired the 36th meeting of the provincial cabinet and approved the budget for holding local bodies polls.

Allocating a substantial amount shows that the Punjab government is gearing up for conducting the polls 11 years after they were held in the tenure of Shehbaz Sharif in the province.

The last local government elections in Punjab were held in 2015 under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013. Polling took place in phases between October and December 2015, and elected councils assumed office in 2017 after indirect elections for mayors and chairpersons. Since then, Punjab has experienced repeated delays.

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The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government had dissolved the elected local bodies in April 2019 before they completed their tenure. The move was later struck down by the Supreme Court, which restored them. They eventually completed their term on Dec 31, 2021.

Successive provincial governments repeatedly amended or replaced the Punjab Local Government Act. Each legislative change required the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to restart preparations, including delimitation and election planning. Changing laws and administrative delays by successive governments contributed significantly to postponement of the local body elections.

Under Article 140A of the Constitution and the Elections Act, local government elections should be held within 120 days of the expiry of local bodies. Since the councils’ term ended in December 2021, elections were due by April 2022 but they have been repeatedly postponed.

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) chief Ahmad Bilal Mehboob told Dawn that allocating the budget by the provincial cabinet for holding local bodies polls was a welcoming sign.

“Since the election commission has completed the demarcation and delimitation process and addressed the objections to them, it is very much likely that it gives local body elections’ date after Aug 17, 2026.”

Mr Mehboob said if no “unseen factor” featured, the local government polls would be held by this November in Punjab.

To a question whether the PML-N government was trying to offset pressure of making a new province, the PILDAT head said: “Creation of new provinces is a complex matter. However, holding the local polls may, in some way, relieve this pressure.”

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2026