ECP rejects Govt plea to defer Quetta municipal elections

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday rejected a plea of the Balochistan government seeking the postponement of the local government elections in Quetta.

The local councils’ elections in Balochistan’s capital city have been scheduled to be held on December 28.

The ECP has issued its decision signed by the chief election commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The ECP in its verdict termed the review petition of the provincial government as ‘without legal weightage’. The election commission upheld its Nov. 03, 2025, verdict and reiterated that the elections will be held on December 28.

The commission also directed the Balochistan government to extend its full cooperation in Quetta’s municipal elections.

It also ordered stringent measures to ensure foolproof security for voters, polling staff and candidates.

Earlier, the Balochistan government had requested the election commission to postpone the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation (QMC) elections, but the request was turned down.

In other districts of Balochistan, local government elections were held three years ago, and the current bodies’ term would expire in next nine months.

Elections would be held in 172 union councils and 641 wards of the city, with 2,710 candidates contesting the elections in Quetta district.

The previous local bodies, elected in 2015, completed their tenure on January 27, 2019.