ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday said local government elections in Islamabad will commence on July 25.

The schedule maintains that returning officers will issue a notice on June 24 for nominations papers of the candidates. The nomination papers will be received on June 25 and 26 and any objections against them can be filed on June 28.

The candidates' nomination papers will be scrutinised on June 29 and 30 and on July 1 and 2 appeals may be filed. All matters related to the appeals will be sorted and disposed off by July 3 and 4.

The candidates will have time till July 5 to withdraw their nomination papers and on July 6 the list of final candidates will be released and election symbols will be allotted to the candidates.

The polling for Islamabad's first local body elections, which are being carried out on the Supreme Court's orders, will take place on July 25 and the results will be announced on July 28 by the returning officers.

This is also the first time that local body elections are being carried out based on a draft law, as the Islamabad Local Government Act 2015 has not yet been passed.

Also read: Lack of LG law in Islamabad throws polls in doldrums

Earlier, a senior ECP official told Dawn that the ECP is prepared to hold the elections but the local government act passed by the National Assembly on March 26 has been pending in the Senate for months.

The announcement of the schedule presents a dilemma for the chief election commissioner as the announcement before the passage of a local government act could invite criticism against lawmakers.

“The interior minister has been informed about the issues in the bill passed by the National Assembly and if the government is serious about holding polls, these should be removed and the amended version of the bill should be passed by the Senate,” an official had told Dawn.