ISLAMABAD(National times)- Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja has said that holding local government elections in Punjab is a shared responsibility of the provincial government and the Election Commission. A crucial meeting regarding the conduct of Punjab’s local government elections was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. The meeting was attended by members of the Election Commission, the Secretary of the Election Commission, Punjab’s Chief Secretary, the Secretary of Local Government Punjab, and other senior officials. During the meeting, participants conducted a detailed review of various administrative and legal matters related to the upcoming local elections in Punjab. The Chief Election Commissioner emphasized that both the provincial government and the Election Commission bear joint responsibility for ensuring the timely conduct of local polls. He directed the Punjab government to immediately provide the Commission with the required rules, data, notifications, and maps to enable the timely commencement of the delimitation process. Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman informed the meeting that under the Local Government Act 2025, the draft of the Delimitation Rules has already been sent to the Election Commission, and its feedback will be sought soon. The Chief Election Commissioner instructed that the Election Commission’s opinion should be promptly shared with the provincial government to avoid any delays in the process. The Chief Secretary further informed that the draft of the Local Government Conduct of Elections Rules will be sent to the Election Commission by November 15, 2025, while notifications related to demarcation, towns, municipal corporations, municipal committees, and tehsil councils will be provided by December 22, 2025. Notifications concerning the number of Union Councils will be shared by December 31, 2025, and certified maps of all urban and rural institutions will be provided by January 10, 2026. He added that once these documents are delivered, the Election Commission will formally begin the delimitation process. The Election Commission stressed that all tasks must be completed strictly according to the set schedule to ensure that the local government elections are held on time.