LAHORE: Preparations for the decisive phase regarding the holding of local body elections in Punjab have begun. The Muslim League (N) will begin consultations on this issue next week, while the Election Commission of Pakistan has sent a proposal to hold polling on December 14, 2026 to the provincial government. The future progress of the electoral process will depend on consultations on legal and administrative matters.
According to sources, various aspects related to the procedure and preparations for the local body elections are being reviewed within the Punjab government and the ruling party. These include issues such as possible amendments to the local body law and availability of election staff. However, no changes or final decisions have been announced yet.
According to the proposed schedule sent by the Election Commission, candidates will be able to submit their nomination papers from October 27 to 30. It is proposed to conduct their scrutiny from November 2 to 5. In the next phase of the election process, the final list of candidates will be released on November 19, while the election symbols are proposed to be allotted on November 20.
This schedule is not final at present. The Election Commission will take a final decision in this regard after completing consultations with the Punjab government. Therefore, the possibility of changing the proposed dates may also be under discussion.
On the other hand, there are reports of some reservations emerging at the organizational level of the PML-N regarding the local government law. According to sources, the party’s divisional, district and tehsil-level organizations have not yet been given final instructions regarding the election strategy. These issues are also expected to be discussed in next week’s consultation.
A budget has been allocated for the local government elections in Punjab and legal and administrative preparations are also underway. In such a situation, the approval of the election schedule is important, as it will give clear direction to the candidates, political parties, and the election administration for their preparations.
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