ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued yet another schedule for local government elections in the capital, setting the polling date for December 20.
The term of the local government expired in February 2021, and the ECP was supposed to conduct elections within 120 days. However, over the years, the federal government and the ECP spent their time carrying out delimitation and announcing election schedules, only to postpone the polls later.
The delimitation of constituencies and union councils was carried out six times, while the election schedule was issued four times. The last election programme was issued on Oct 9, under which polling was scheduled for February 2026.
Later, an ordinance proposing changes to the Local Government Act was issued. The ordinance lapsed on Sept 6, while the final delimitations were published on Oct 14.
Commission sets December 20 as polling day
The ECP decided that, since the local government law enacted in 2015 was still in force, elections would be held under the Act. This meant polls would be held in 50 constituencies, after which the mayor and deputy mayors would be elected.
If all goes according to the ECP’s plan, October 30 has been set for the issuance of a public notice inviting nomination papers. After the completion of various stages of the electoral process, polling will be held on December 20. The ECP has reserved four days, from December 21 to 24, for the consolidation of results.
After a delay of more than five years, there is now hope that Islamabad’s residents will have a local government system.
On the other hand, the federal government, citing various reasons, including proposed amendments to the Local Government Act, continued to postpone elections, depriving around 2.5 million residents of Islamabad of their democratic right to have a local government system.
Whenever an election schedule was issued, the local chapter of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) reportedly claimed that the government, fearing defeat, would find a way to avoid holding elections, come what may.
The local chapter of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), however, had consistently rejected PTI’s claims, maintaining that the government wanted an effective and vibrant local government system in Islamabad. It argued that the previous local government, which remained in place from 2015-16 to 2021, had failed to deliver effectively.
It is relevant to note that a high-level committee headed by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, recently 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, once 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.
Under the proposals, 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.
However, these proposals remained mere recommendations, and the ECP finally announced the election schedule, deciding that, despite assurances, the government had failed to complete the required legislative process.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja issued the order in a case concerning delays in local government elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Members Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Mohammad Jatoi, Babar Hassan Bharwana and retired Justice Ikramullah Khan were part of the bench.
After hearing the government officers concerned, the commission decided to hold elections under the 2015 Act.
During the commission meeting, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja remarked that assurances had been given by the interior minister, interior secretary, chief commissioner and the committee of ministers, but it appeared that the government did not want to hold local government elections in Islamabad at all.
He said that, under the Constitution, holding local government elections in accordance with the law was mandatory and that the commission was now compelled to issue orders for holding LG polls in Islamabad.
The commission subsequently ordered that elections be held in accordance with the 2015 local government law and directed that the election schedule be issued. Hours later, the ECP announced the schedule, fixing December 20 as the polling date.
Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026
