ECP Sets December 2025 for Punjab Local Body Elections

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that local government elections in Punjab, the country’s most populated province, will be held in the last week of December 2025.

The ECP, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Raja Sultan, also directed that the delimitation process—drawing boundaries for voting areas—will start from Thursday and be completed within two months.

The ECP bench, including members Nisar Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, and Babar Hassan Bharwana, confirmed that the elections will be conducted under the 2022 local government law.

During the hearing, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Raja criticized the continuous delays in holding these elections, calling it an embarrassment for both the ECP and the provincial governments that ruled during this period.

“The local government elections have not been held in Punjab, which is a shame for everyone,” he said. “All governments that came into power avoided holding these elections.”

The CEC also addressed a recent statement from a Punjab government minister who blamed the ECP for delaying the polls, saying that the government itself was responsible for the delay.

The ECP judgment pointed out that the term of local governments in Punjab ended in December 2021, but elections have yet to be held.

It also noted that the Punjab government changed local government laws five times in recent years, causing further delays.

The delimitation process was started by the ECP in June 2020 but was paused at the request of the Punjab government. It was restarted twice but again delayed when the government withdrew the schedule in June 2024.

The ECP now insists on moving forward, aiming to hold the local body elections by the end of 2025.