Punjab local government elections: Punjab asks ECP for polls in three phases on 4, 11 and 18 April 2027

Updated 15 October 2026. Punjab wants its local government elections held in three phases on 4, 11 and 18 April 2027, not on 14 December 2026. The Punjab cabinet approved the proposal on Wednesday and the Local Government and Community Development Department sent it to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a letter the same day, Dawn reported. The ECP has not yet said whether it accepts the new dates, so the December draft schedule below is not in force, and nomination papers will not open on 27 October unless the ECP says so.

Punjab's proposal: three Sundays in April 2027

Which districts vote in which phase has not been decided. The cabinet said that will be agreed with the ECP in a separate meeting.

Why Punjab wants April

The department's letter gives these reasons, according to Dawn:

• Weather: smog, dense fog and cold in December and January.
• Ramazan: it begins in February 2027.
• Logistics: phasing lets the province move staff, security and polling material district by district, with better oversight and easier access for voters.

The proposal came from a ministerial committee set up to consult the ECP, which met for the second time on 5 October. At that meeting the ECP said it was "prepared" to hold the polls. The cabinet set aside Rs 12.5 billion for the elections on 6 August.

The ECP's December draft (2 October)

On 1 October the ECP sent the Punjab chief secretary a draft schedule with union council polling on Monday 14 December 2026, ARY News and Daily Pakistan reported:

ARY gave scrutiny as 2 to 3 November; Daily Pakistan gave 2 to 5 November. Last month Punjab had asked for polling between 15 December and 15 January, The Express Tribune reported; it has now asked for April instead.

Four years overdue

Punjab's councils finished their term on 31 December 2021, after the Supreme Court restored the local bodies that the PTI government had dissolved in 2019. Under Article 140A of the Constitution and the Elections Act, polls should follow within 120 days of a term ending, so they were due by April 2022. The last Punjab local elections were held in 2015 under the Punjab Local Government Act 2013; each new law since then has sent the ECP back to the start, Dawn noted. For many voters under 30, this would be their first union council vote.

What it means for voters in Punjab

• Are you on the roll? Only people on the electoral roll can vote. Check your entry by sending your CNIC number to 8300 by SMS.
• Turning 18? You must be 18 to vote. Our age calculator tells you your exact age on any polling date.
• Union council papers: the councils handle birth and death registration. Our NADRA birth certificate guide explains the process and the fee.

What happens next

The ECP decides whether to accept April or keep its December draft. Once it issues a final notification, the schedule becomes binding, the code of conduct applies and nominations open. We will update this page the day it does.