LAHORE (Web Desk) – The Punjab government on Monday informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that upcoming local government elections in the province will be conducted on a party-based system, with political parties issuing tickets to their candidates.
The statement was made during proceedings on several petitions challenging the Local Government Act 2025. Punjab Assistant Advocate General appeared before Justice Sultan Tanveer Ahmed and submitted that the local government department has already filed its report with the court.
The matter stems from the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision in October to hold local government polls in Punjab under the framework of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2025.
During the hearing, counsel for petitioner Sheikh Imtiaz requested that the court formally record the assistant advocate general’s assurance regarding party-based elections.
On behalf of the Election Commission, Director General Law Khurram Shahzad told the court that the ECP had sent nearly 80 reminders to the Punjab government over the past four years regarding the conduct of local government elections.
He added that the commission is legally obligated to organize elections in accordance with the law enacted by the provincial government, noting that Punjab authorities had set January 10 as the deadline for completing election-related arrangements.
Following the submissions, the court adjourned the case until Tuesday.
It may be noted that the petitioner has maintained that amendments introduced to the Punjab Local Government Act 2017 led to non-party-based local government elections, a move he argued was contrary to democratic principles.