ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Islamabad chapter on Thursday constituted an election committee to begin preparations for the upcoming local government elections.

According to the notification, issued by Islamabad President Amir Mughal, the committee will be headed by regional General Secretary Malik Amir Ali Awan. On Wednesday, PTI had decided to participate in the local government elections scheduled for February 15 across the federal capital.

The chairman of the local government election committee will have the authority to invite any individual who is not a committee member to attend meetings as needed.

The committee will be responsible for the preparation of a joint election manifesto for the local government elections, planning and supervision of a unified election campaign across Islamabad.

The committee will be involved in the formation and guidance of campaign teams at district and union council levels, ensuring full representation of party candidates in all union councils across the three constituencies.

They will be involved in consultation and coordination with the leaders of all three constituencies, oversight of scrutiny, receipt, and submission of nomination papers, and establishment of a legal team to provide legal guidance and ensure the timely resolution of objections and legal complexities. The objective will be to ensure that PTI secures a clean sweep in Islamabad.

Amir Mughal said that amendments to the 2015 Local Government Act, including the abolition of direct elections for chairman and vice chairman, could facilitate rigging and horse-trading to manipulate the public mandate. Despite these challenges, he vowed to contest the elections with full strength and achieve a clean sweep across the district.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has already announced the schedule for the Islamabad Capital Territory elections. The term of the local government expired in February 2021, but elections were delayed due to “new legislation”.

According to the ECP notification, public notices inviting nomination papers will be issued on December 19. Candidates may file nominations with returning officers (ROs) from December 22-27, excluding December 25 (Quaid-i-Azam Day).

Nominated candidates’ names will be published on December 29, and nomination papers will be scrutinised from December 30 to January 3, 2026.

Appeals against RO decisions may be filed from January 5 to 8 and will be decided by the Appellate Authority from January 9-13. The revised candidate list will be published on January 14.

January 15 is the final day for withdrawal of candidature, after which election symbols will be allotted and the list of contesting candidates published.

Polling will be held on Sunday, February 15, with results consolidated between February 16-19.

The ECP notification also states that polling hours will be from 8am to 4pm, with all polling activities conducted during office hours.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2025