ECP announces to hold first phase of LB polls in Punjab

• Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announces the date for first phase of local bodies elections in Punjab.
  
• Local Bodies polls will be held on May 29 in 17 districts.
• PTI will face a formidable competition from the province's primary political rivals, the PMLN.
  

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced Wednesday that the first phase of local government elections in Punjab will be held on May 29 in 17 districts, The News reported.

According to the ECP, a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja decided that the first phase of local body elections would be held on May 29 in 17 districts of Punjab. The districts where the elections will be held include Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Khanewal, Vehari, and Bahawalpur, as well as Sahiwal, Pakpatan, Toba Tek Singh, Khushab, Sialkot, Gujarat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhelum and Attock.

It is widely believed that the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will face formidable competition from the province's primary political rivals, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party, as well as certain other groups, notably Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan.

There are, however, some media reports that the PTI may seek TLP collaboration in exchange for votes in specific constituencies. According to the schedule provided by the ECP on December 27, 2021, the delimitation committees had posted preliminary lists of seats for local body elections in each of the Commission's 36 district offices around the province, including information on neighbourhood and village councils.

Under the Election Act 2017 and the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2021, delimitation committees established the boundaries of neighbourhood and village councils, resulting in the formation of at least 2,544 neighbourhood councils and 3,128 village councils.

The ECP stated in a statement that voters can contest the delimitation of their particular seats by February 25 before the ECP-appointed authorities, with the authorities deciding on the voters' objections by March 12.

As previously reported, the PTI abolished local governments elected in May 2019 under the 2013 Local Government Act, promising to replace them with a more powerful structure under the new legislation.

Subsequently, in March 2021, while ordering the restoration of dissolved local governments, the Supreme Court decided that Section 3 of the Local Government Act 2019, which allows elected local governments to dissolve prior to the expiration of their lawful term, is unconstitutional.

Last October, the Punjab government reestablished local governments following the Supreme Court's dissatisfaction with the non-implementation of an earlier order. Punjab's local governments concluded their terms on December 31, 2021, following the provincial government's December 12 adoption of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2021.

However, in January 2022, the Punjab government proposed to the Election Commission that the province hold local body elections in two phases, with the first phase taking place on May 15.