The Punjab government informed the Lahore High Court on Monday that the upcoming local government elections in the province will be held on a party-based system, allowing political parties to issue tickets to their candidates.
The statement was made during hearings on multiple petitions challenging the Punjab Local Government Act 2025. Punjab Assistant Advocate General appeared before Justice Sultan Tanveer Ahmed and noted that the local government department had already submitted its report to the court.
The case arises from the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) October decision to conduct local government elections under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2025.
During proceedings, petitioner Sheikh Imtiaz’s counsel requested that the court formally record the assistant advocate general’s assurance regarding party-based elections.
Speaking on behalf of the ECP, Director General Law Khurram Shahzad stated that the commission had sent nearly 80 reminders over the past four years to the Punjab government regarding the conduct of local elections. He added that the ECP is legally obliged to organize elections in line with provincial legislation, noting that the Punjab government has set January 10 as the deadline for completing election preparations.
The court adjourned the case until Tuesday. Petitioner Sheikh Imtiaz has argued that previous amendments to the Punjab Local Government Act 2017 had resulted in non-party-based elections, which he claims undermined democratic principles.
