The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced to hold, on the coming May 29, the local government elections in 17 out of 36 districts of Punjab in the first phase that does not include the major cities of Pakistan’s largest province.

In this context, an ECP meeting on Wednesday finalised the date for LG polls in the 17 districts and decided that the schedule in the remaining 19 districts would be issued later.

Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Khanewal, Vehari, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Toba Tek Singh, Khushab, Sialkot, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhelum and Attock are the districts where LG polls would be held on May 29.

Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan, Chiniot, Jhang, Narowal, Nankana Sahib, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Lodhran, Multan, Chakwal, Okara, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Sargodha are the districts where LG elections would be held later— in the second phase.

A day earlier, ECP, Tuesday, rejected the petition of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government seeking delay in the second phase of LG elections in the province, and retained its schedule, announced earlier, to hold the polls on the coming March 31.

A two-member ECP bench issued this decision.

Presently, KP is the only province of Pakistan where LG elections were held in 17 districts in the first phase on December 19 last year and polls in the remaining 18 districts are scheduled on the coming March 31.

Meanwhile, the electoral body, Wednesday, issued public notice seeking nominations for Senate’s general seat from Sindh that fell vacant following the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Vawda on February 9 in the dual nationality case. The commission has announced to hold by-election on the said seat on the coming March 9.

A three-member ECP bench disqualified Vawda for life under Article 62 (1) (f) for submitting false affidavit and declaration in the dual nationality case.

This report was first published in Business Recorder on February 17, 2022.