Summary: The Election Commission of Pakistan has suspended preparations for local body elections in the province after the federal government extended the suspension of Article 140A of the Constitution to the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Earlier, the commission had ordered elections to be held in districts other than specific emergency districts.
Islamabad: The Election Commission of Pakistan has suspended the process of local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for an indefinite period. According to the commission, after the new order of the federal government, it was not possible to hold elections in the remaining districts of the province.
The meeting of the Election Commission, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, reviewed Order No. 3 issued by the federal government on November 4, 2026.
The meeting considered Clause No. 2 of the order, under which the suspension of Article 140A of the Constitution has been extended to those districts that were not included in the order issued earlier.
According to the Election Commission, Article 140A deals with the establishment of local governments and transfer of powers in the provinces, while it is the constitutional responsibility of the Commission to hold local government elections under its sub-clause 2.
It should be noted that the Election Commission had ordered on October 28 to hold local government elections in those districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the process of delimitation had been completed. This decision exempted 12 districts affected by Governor’s rule and emergency.
However, after the new order of the federal government, the scope of suspension of the constitutional provision was extended to other districts as well, which affected the already ongoing election preparations.
After detailed deliberation, the Election Commission decided that in the current situation, it is not possible to hold local government elections in the remaining districts of the province. Therefore, all the steps taken so far for the elections have been stopped until further orders.
As a result of this decision, the electoral process to restore elected local governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been further delayed. No final decision has been made regarding the new date of elections or the resumption of the process.
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