ECP extends delimitation drive for Punjab’s LG polls

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has extended by a week the ongoing delimitation drive for the local government elections in Punjab that is scheduled to complete in the coming August. A notification issued by the ECP on Wednesday revealed that the delimitation drive, which started on 15th April, and was scheduled to complete on 10th August, would now complete on 17th August with the publication of the final list of the delimited constituencies. The decision has been taken keeping in view the pendency of the related tasks involving the delimitation drive, an ECP official told Business Recorder, requesting anonymity. A day earlier, the ECP, in a meeting on Tuesday, decided to issue the LG polls schedule for Punjab immediately after the completion of the ongoing delimitation drive in the province. On 15th April this year, the electoral body finally issued the schedule for carrying out the delimitation of union councils across 10 divisions of Punjab comprising 41 districts. The delimitation drive covers the entire Punjab province – Lahore Division comprising Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib and Kasur districts—Faisalabad Division comprising Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Chiniot districts—Rawalpindi Division comprising Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Talagang and Murree districts—Gujranwala Division comprising Gujranwala, Sialkot and Narowal districts—Gujrat Division comprising Gujrat, Hafizabad, Wazirabad and Mandi Bahauddin districts—Sargodha Division comprising Sargodha, Khushab, Bhakkar and Mianwali districts—Sahiwal Division comprising Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan districts — Multan Division comprising Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran and Vehari districts — Dera Ghazi Khan Division comprising Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Kot Addu, Layyah, Taunsa and Rajanpur districts and Bahawalpur Division comprising Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan districts. The local bodies’ term in Punjab expired on 31st December 2021 with the LG polls seeing a prolonged delay since then. The electoral body is bound to hold LG elections within 120 days of the expiry of the relevant local bodies’ term, under Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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