The Punjab government unveiled the Punjab Local Government Act 2025, a comprehensive reform package that purports to decentralise governance after years of delay and uneven political resolve. The Act abolishes previous local government structures and introduces a new model of administration, but its reception has been far from unanimous. Although the legislation emphasises compliance with Article 140-A of the Constitution, which envisions political, administrative, and financial devolution to local levels, many observers contend that the text of the Act implies otherwise. Instead of transferring actual authority to the people, the latest Act consolidates control within the provincial bureaucracy.
The primary focus of the reform is to completely restructure local government structures. The former District Councils have been replaced by district authorities, which will handle devolved departments such as health, education, social welfare, and tourism. These authorities will be led by Deputy Commissioners (DCs), rather than elected representatives. These DCs will chair the Executive Board, which includes department heads, a district attorney, and other members appointed by the chair. Proponents of the Act assert that this design creates oversight and, ultimately, greater value in a system that has been dominated by politics, favouritism, incompetence, and lack of service. The job of the Deputy Commissioner is to coordinate and work across departments, focusing mainly on development and emergencies. The government now prioritises accountability in government by using modern ways to monitor actions and allowing people to participate in hearings and track the online progress of service or action.
However, the guarantees were not enough to stop the increasing criticism. Members of the opposition and civil society actors claim that the Act undermines democratic representation and removes district autonomy, while increasing the power of the Chief Minister through the District Commissioners (DCs). The opponents cite that this is an extension of the centralised power of prior military leaders. A lawmaker opposed the idea of ceding power to appointed authorities rather than elected officials, calling the bill a variant of civil martial law.
This criticism becomes more incisive when one examines the various electoral processes laid out by the 2025 Act. General members of Union Councils are elected by a direct vote via a secret ballot. Key positions of leadership, like the chairperson and vice-chairperson, are selected indirectly by a show of hands of the members of the council. Mayors and deputy mayors are also elected by ex-officio members and those elected on reserved seats, rather than by the general public. Even though such procedures might be lawful, they greatly weaken the direct representation principle. The Act allows for political manoeuvring by adding layers of mediated selection, which could reduce the power of the voters and threaten the credibility of local governments.
Another problem is that the Act does not address party-based elections. According to Section 55 of the Act, candidates are permitted to join a political party only after being elected, which some critics describe as enabling non-party elections by design. According to one opposition leader, the government is using this model to persuade independents to join their coalition since they worry that elections conducted on a party basis could cost them a win. While the Act does not explicitly prohibit party-based participation, its procedural silence reinforces these concerns.
Structurally, the Act introduces five categories of local governments: Union Councils, Tehsil Councils, Municipal Committees, Municipal Corporations, and Town Corporations. Union Councils consist of nine general members and four reserved seats (for women, youth, minorities, and workers or peasants) as per Section 15. Chairpersons of Union Councils serve as ex-officio members in upper-tier bodies, which also include reserved seats for technocrats, persons with disabilities, and others. Each tier is granted authority over specific municipal functions, including water supply, waste management, street lighting, local roads, and public spaces, as outlined in Section 26. Union Councils, the most localised units, retain powers over community mobilisation, maintenance of public assets, dispute resolution, and birth and death registration, as described in Sections 27 and 28. They are also empowered to mediate compoundable civil and criminal disputes, a nod to community-based justice models.
Despite these functionally devolved responsibilities, the Act maintains a strong provincial oversight framework over the Local authorities. Local governments must operate within the provincial legal structure and cannot act contrary to the executive authority of the Punjab government, as highlighted in Section 21. The Chief Minister retains the power to appoint administrators when a council’s term ends (Section 76), raising fears of extended bureaucratic control in the absence of timely elections, a fear not unfounded, given that Punjab’s last local government term expired in December 2021 and elections have yet to be held.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also expressed frustration over repeated delays and poor legislative coordination. According to official notices, the bureaucracy prepared four different drafts of the Act since 2021, all of which failed to meet the ECP’s requirements or gain political consensus. Recently, the Punjab government asked to stop the delimitation process, which the ECP agreed to, while also warning that there would be no more delays if the process is stopped again.
This delay has fuelled the perception that the Act is more a tool of electoral manoeuvring than democratic empowerment. Lawmakers have warned that centralising power in DCs would bury local governments and disenfranchise elected representatives. Legal experts have further argued that bodies like Municipal Committees and Tehsil Councils, emphasised in the Act, have no constitutional basis, contradicting the principles of Article 140-A, which demands that political, administrative, and financial powers be devolved to elected local bodies.
Still, it would be premature to write off the Act entirely. If implemented transparently and in good faith, some of its innovations, such as digitised service records, economic development strategies by local heads (as per Section 26), and mandatory public consultations, could foster a new culture of local governance. However, for now, the Act appears to offer an architecture of devolution without genuine autonomy, a system where elections occur, councils meet, and bylaws are passed. Still, real power rests firmly with appointed bureaucrats and the provincial executive. The ultimate test will be not just in the text of the law but in its execution. As Punjab moves closer to long-overdue local government elections, the question remains: will this law empower citizens at the grassroots or rebrand centralisation under the guise of reform?
References
- Concerns regarding Punjab Local Government Bill 2025. Daily Times. https://dailytimes.com.pk/1295012/concerns-regarding-punjab-local-government-bill-2025/
- DCs get dominance over elected representatives under new LG law. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1897081
- ECP fumes over delay in holding of LG polls in Punjab. 24 News HD. https://24newshd.tv/23-May-2025/ecp-fumes-over-delay-in-holding-of-lg-polls-in-punjab
- Local Government Bill nullifies district autonomy. The Express Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2542869/local-government-bill-nullifies-district-autonomy-1
- Punjab bureaucracy draws flak over delayed local govt bill. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1914002
- Punjab local govt bill empowers DCs, sidelines elected officials. The News International. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1314062-punjab-local-govt-bill-empowers-dcs-sidelines-elected-officials
- The Punjab Local Government Bill, 2025 (Bill No. 26 of 2025). Punjab Assembly. https://www.pap.gov.pk/uploads/bills/(26%20of%202025)%20The%20Punjab%20Local%20Government%20Bill%202025.docx
