The KP government, meanwhile, assured the Commission of its full cooperation in arranging polls
ISLAMABAD:
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has formally started consultations with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to decide the date for local government elections in 23 districts, with both sides agreeing to hold another round of talks in 15 days before finalizing poll planning.
The development came at a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja at the ECP Secretariat on Tuesday, where the commission said delimitation in all 23 districts had been completed and it was fully prepared to conduct the elections.
The KP government, meanwhile, assured the Commission of its full cooperation in arranging the polls.
The meeting was attended by members of the Election Commission, ECP Secretary, KP Chief Secretary, Provincial Local Government Secretary and senior ECP officials.
The tenure of local governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expired on March 15 this year. Under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, elected local representatives serve a four-year term.
According to an ECP press release, the Chief Election Commissioner emphasized the constitutional importance of local governments, saying that the holding of local body elections was mandatory under Article 140-A of the Constitution.
“Under Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP is required to conduct local government elections within 120 days of the expiry of the term of the local governments,” he was quoted as saying.
The commission was informed that the terms of local government institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had expired on 14 March and 19 June 2026 respectively.
The ECP told the meeting that the delimitation process in the province’s 23 districts had been completed and that it was “fully prepared” to conduct the elections.
The commission also reiterated that consultation with the provincial government was a legal prerequisite before the election schedule was announced.
