ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday ordered local government elections in Islamabad under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015, and directed that the election schedule be issued the same day.
A five-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja held a hearing on the long-delayed polls. The interior secretary and ECP officials appeared before the commission.
ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Malik told the commission that delimitation in Islamabad had been carried out six times and election schedules announced on four occasions. The latest schedule was issued on October 9, with polling set for February. He said a presidential ordinance issued by the government had expired on September 6, while the final delimitation was published on October 14. The Ministry of Interior had also been sent two reminder letters about the ordinance’s expiry.
Malik said rules for the Islamabad local government system had yet to be provided and that the Ministry of Law had declined to approve them. He added that the federal government had not introduced a new local government law, leaving the 2015 Act in force and allowing elections to proceed under the existing legislation.
The interior secretary acknowledged the facts presented by the ECP but argued that proceeding under the 2015 law would mean discarding work already completed. Raja responded that holding elections under the existing law would not affect the delimitation process.
The chief election commissioner said the interior minister, interior secretary, chief commissioner and a committee of ministers had repeatedly given assurances that had not been fulfilled. He remarked that it appeared the government did not want to hold local government elections in Islamabad.
Raja added that the Constitution required local government elections to be held under the law and that the ECP had been compelled to issue the order.
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At the end of the hearing, the commission directed that Islamabad’s local government elections be held under the 2015 law and that the schedule be issued the same day. The chief election commissioner also read out the commission’s brief order.
Local governments in the Islamabad Capital Territory last completed their term in February 2021. Elections have since been repeatedly delayed amid changes to the legal framework, including an amendment ordinance promulgated earlier in 2026 that later lapsed without replacement legislation.
