The Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday decided to hold the first phase of local government elections in Punjab on 7 February 2027, in view of fog and weather conditions.
The decision was taken by the ECP, which set the February date as the timing for the first phase of the polls in the province. The reason given for the timing was the fog and weather conditions expected in the winter months.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over the proceedings. The members of the bench were Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi and Babar Hassan Bharwana, alongside the Chief Election Commissioner.
The ECP had earlier proposed 14 December as a date for the polls. That earlier proposal was superseded by the decision taken on Thursday, which moved the first phase to February.
The Punjab chief secretary had requested polling after 20 January 2027, conducted in phases, keeping in view weather conditions and administrative convenience. The request asked for the polls to be held after that date, in phases, and it cited both weather and administrative considerations.
The ECP accepted the request, and the date of 7 February 2027 was set as a result. The acceptance of the chief secretary’s request shows that the timing was adjusted in response to the provincial administration’s view on weather and convenience.
Punjab has had no elected local councils since its last local vote in 2015. That gap, stretching over more than a decade, is the background to the decision, and the February polls will be the first phase of the return to elected local government in the province.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ECP halted all preparations for local government elections until further orders. The halt applies to preparations across the province, and it remains in place until the Commission issues further orders.
The halt followed the federal government’s extension of the suspension of Article 140-A of the Constitution to the entire province. That extension was made by federal Order No 3, issued on 4 November 2026, and clause 2 of that order extended the suspension to all remaining districts.
On 28 October, the ECP had decided to hold KP local elections excluding twelve districts facing intense security challenges, where an Area Representative and Development Council, known as an ARDC, was formed. That earlier decision had left the remaining districts in the province scheduled for elections.
The ECP said elections would not be scheduled in Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Mohmand, Orakzai and North Waziristan under the federal government’s order dated 11 October. Those five areas were named as places where elections would not be scheduled, under that order.
Article 140-A provides for the establishment of local governments in the provinces, and elections are due within 120 days of local bodies’ terms ending. That constitutional provision is the framework for the local government elections in both provinces.
The decisions taken on Thursday therefore cover two provinces in different ways. In Punjab, a date has been set for the first phase, 7 February 2027, after the earlier proposal of 14 December was set aside. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, preparations have been halted until further orders.
The Punjab decision reflects the interaction between the ECP, which had proposed December, and the Punjab chief secretary, who requested a date after 20 January 2027. The Commission accepted that request, and the February date is the outcome.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa decision reflects the federal orders on Article 140-A. The extension of the suspension to the entire province by Order No 3 of 4 November 2026, following the earlier order of 11 October, is the basis for the halt in preparations.
The twelve districts excluded on 28 October, where an ARDC was formed because of intense security challenges, were already outside the election schedule. The halt now extends to preparations across the province as a whole, until further orders are issued.
The February date for Punjab, the halt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the constitutional provision in Article 140-A together describe the current state of local government elections in the two provinces.
Source: Geo News, Dawn, The Express Tribune
