The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered local government elections in Islamabad under the Local Government Act 2015 and directed officials to issue the election schedule on the same day.
A five-member ECP bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the case. The secretary of interior and ECP officials also appeared before the commission.
During the hearing, ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Malik said authorities had completed delimitation in Islamabad six times and issued election schedules on four occasions. The last schedule was announced on October 9, 2026, with polling planned for February 2026.
He further informed the commission that the presidential ordinance issued by the government expired on September 6. The ECP published the final delimitation on October 14 and sent two reminder letters to the Ministry of Interior about the ordinance’s expiry.
Malik added that the government had not provided the rules for Islamabad’s local government system. The Ministry of Law had also refused to approve the rules, while the federal government had yet to introduce a new local government law. He argued that the 2015 law remained in force and elections should therefore proceed under it.
The secretary of interior acknowledged that the facts presented before the commission were correct. However, he said authorities would have to discard the work completed so far if the elections proceeded under the 2015 law.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja responded that holding elections under the existing law would not affect the delimitation process. He also noted that the interior minister, interior secretary, chief commissioner and a committee of ministers had given assurances regarding the elections.
Raja expressed concern that the government appeared unwilling to hold local government elections in Islamabad. He stressed that the Constitution requires local elections to take place under the applicable law.
The ECP said it had been compelled to issue the order and directed officials to announce the election schedule immediately.
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