ISLAMABAD: Local government elections in the capital have been delayed for more than five years, with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) deciding on Wednesday to hold a formal hearing to determine whether the polls can be conducted under the ICT Local Government Act, 2015, after the Islamabad Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, lapsed.

Despite several announcements and the issuance of election schedules over the past five years, the elections could not be held.

Recently, a high-level committee headed by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recommended devolving powers from the federation to Islamabad as a federating unit.

The committee proposed a provincial-style government for the capital. Under the proposal, the Islamabad Assembly, whenever formed, would have 27 members, including 21 directly elected representatives, with seven from each of the three National Assembly constituencies, five women on reserved seats and one minority member.

Commission fixes Oct 21 hearing to determine whether polls can be held under 2015 law amid over five years of delay

All departments would function under the proposed assembly, except law and order and master planning, which would remain under the federal government.

The assembly would elect a leader, to be called either the chief minister or mayor, who would serve as the chief executive. The chief commissioner would be replaced by a chief secretary.

The tenure of Islamabad’s local government expired in 2021, and the law required fresh elections to be held within 120 days.

“A special meeting regarding the conduct of local government elections was held here under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. Members of the commission, the ECP secretary and other senior officers attended the meeting,” an ECP press release issued on Wednesday said.

It said the meeting was informed that, under the Federal Capital Islamabad (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, the ECP had initiated the delimitation process in Islamabad on July 21, 2026. The process had been completed, and the final delimitation lists were published on Tuesday.

The commission had also sent its feedback on the Islamabad Local Government Rules to the Ministry of Interior on July 20, 2026, recommending that the legislation and rules be published accordingly.

According to the ECP, the relevant legislation was approved by the standing committee on Sept 3, 2026. However, the ordinance expired on Sept 6, before the legislation could be enacted.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Law and Justice returned the draft rules to the Ministry of Interior, stating that there was no authority to frame rules under the expired ordinance, the press release said.

To facilitate the elections, the ECP has fixed Oct 21, 2026, for a regular hearing and decided to issue notices to the interior secretary and Islamabad chief commissioner to assist the commission.

The ECP will consider whether elections should be held under the ICT Local Government Act, 2015, as the amendment ordinance has expired and the federal government has not enacted the required legislation.

The commission intends to issue an election schedule under the previous law following the hearing, the press release added.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2026