ISLAMABAD: After the promulgation of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday withdrew the election schedule.

The elections were supposed to be held on February 15. However, despite the issuance of the election schedule and submission of thousands of nomination papers from across 125 Union Councils, the government came up with amendments to the local government Act. This resulted in cancellation of the election schedule.

“Consequent upon the promulgation of Islamabad Local Government Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2026 dated 10th January, 2026 by the Federal Government, wherein structure of Local Government and mode of Local Government have been changed. Resultantly, ECP recalls election program of Local Government in Islamabad,” read a notification issued by ECP.

Recently, President Asif Ali Zardari accorded assent to an ordinance, approving several amendments to Local Government Act 2015.

Thousands had filed nomination papers from across 125 UCs for already delayed polls on Feb 15

Besides replacing Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) with three town corporations, the government-appointed administrator has been given more powers and indefinite tenure.

The ordinance stated that in the absence of the local government, the administrator can hold office until the new local government elections are held, replacing the bar that the administrator’s tenure shall not exceed six months. The ordinance also empowered the administrator to levy tax, fee, rate, rent, toll charge or surcharge.

The ordinance is based on approval of the federal cabinet, which recently had approved 14 amendments to the Act, including a change in the name of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, replacing it with “Town Corporations”.

According to the ordinance, there will be three town corporations in Islamabad and each town corporation will comprise, as far as practicable, the territorial limits of a National Assembly (NA) constituency within the capital. Islamabad has three NA seats.

It is relevant to note here when the election schedule was announced by the ECP, the local chapter of the PTI had stated that the government fearing defeat would opt for an escape route and would not conduct the elections in February.

However, PML-N former deputy mayor Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi rejected the claim, stating that the ordinance was brought for a better local government system in Islamabad.

“Whenever new schedule will be announced, we will win elections as we did in 2015. Under new system, there will be three town corporations and three mayors. It’s a good move to serve public in better way,” he said.

Whenever elections are held, according to the ordinance, each town corporation will have a Mayor and two deputy mayors, four women, one peasant/worker, one trader/ businessman, one youth member and one non-Muslim member.

The term of the last local government expired in February 2021, and since then the elections have been delayed under various pretexts. As a result, around 2.5 million residents of Islamabad continue to face issues ranging from water shortages to unpaved streets etc.

Earlier, the ECP conducted delimitations of constituencies multiple times and issued election schedules on several occasions, only for them to be cancelled later. A few years ago, the elections were even cancelled a day before polling.

When the local government’s term ended in 2021, the PTI was in power and elections were supposed to be held within 120 days. However, the PTI government did not take serious steps to conduct the polls. LATER, When the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) came to power, it too delayed the elections.

During the PDM’s tenure, elections were set to be held in 50 union councils (UCs), but the government argued that the number should be increased to 101 UCs, leading to further delays.

Later, when arrangements were finalised to hold elections in 101 UCs, the PDM government proposed increasing the number of UCs from 101 to 125. Elections were then scheduled for 125 UCs, but in September last year the government decided to increase the number of general seats in the UCs. Last month, the ECP had decided to hold the elections in 125 UCs on Feb 15 and issued the schedule.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2026