The Punjab government on Monday informed the Lahore High Court that forthcoming local government elections in the province will be conducted on a party-based system, allowing political parties to issue tickets to their candidates.
The assurance was given during hearings on multiple petitions challenging the Punjab Local Government Act, 2025. Punjab’s Assistant Advocate General appeared before Justice Sultan Tanveer Ahmed and told the court that the local government department had already submitted its report in this regard.
The case arises from the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision in October to hold local government polls in Punjab under the provisions of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2025. During the proceedings, counsel for petitioner Sheikh Imtiaz requested the court to formally place on record the government’s commitment to party-based elections.
Representing the Election Commission, Director General Law Khurram Shahzad informed the court that the ECP had issued nearly 80 reminders to the Punjab government over the last four years, urging it to hold local government elections. He added that the commission is bound to conduct polls in line with laws passed by the provincial assembly, noting that Punjab authorities had fixed January 10 as the deadline to finalize election arrangements.
After hearing the arguments, the court adjourned the proceedings until Tuesday.
The petitioner has argued that earlier amendments to the Punjab Local Government Act 2017 resulted in non-party-based local government elections, which he contends undermined democratic norms.
