ECP orders local government elections in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday directed that local government elections in the federal capital be held without further delay, issuing its reserved judgement on a set of petitions challenging provisions of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Local Government Act, 2015.

The ECP declared a key clause of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015, unconstitutional, directing its office to issue an election schedule immediately.

The decision was issued under Section 219 of the Elections Act, 2017, following years of legislative delays and repeated changes introduced by the federal government.

In its detailed order, the commission held that Section 15 of the ICT Local Government (Amendment) Act 2024, which empowered Union Council secretaries to conduct elections for reserved seats and chairmen/vice chairmen, was inconsistent with Articles 140A(2), 219(d) and 222 of the Constitution. The ECP stressed that only officers appointed under Sections 50 and 223 of the Elections Act, 2017—such as DROs, ROs and AROs—may conduct local elections, not Union Council secretaries.

The commission noted that the federal government repeatedly failed to complete required legislation, despite ECP reminders and court directives. According to the order, the ECP completed delimitation five times —in May 2022, August 2022, June 2023, July 2024 and January 2025 — due to frequent changes in the number of Union Councils, which shifted from 50 to 101 and later to 115. Election programmes were also issued three times but had to be recalled after further amendments or federal government requests.

The 2024 amendments introduced several structural changes: increasing general wards per Union Council from six to nine; reducing women’s reserved seats from two to one; adding a new “businessman/technocrat” category; and shifting reserved-seat elections from direct to indirect polls. However, the draft amendments required to resolve constitutional contradictions—particularly the undefined term “businessman”—remained pending before the parliamentary standing committee.

The ECP observed that despite “exhausting all possible efforts,” the federal government “used delaying tactics,” preventing elections since the term expired on 14 February 2021, in violation of the constitutional requirement to hold local polls within 120 days. The commission cited Supreme Court judgments affirming that when legislation is absent or defective, the ECP remains obligated to conduct polls under constitutional authority.

Ordering the resumption of the election process, the ECP directed that an updated election schedule be issued, reaffirming that the Commission has full authority to conduct Islamabad’s local government elections independently of federal executive interference.

The verdict noted that “the Election Commission shall conduct elections to the local government within the Islamabad Capital Territory as mandated under Article 140-A of the Constitution.

It further stated that “each local government shall be elected for a term of five years,” reinforcing the constitutional requirement for timely elections.

The Act outlines that the “Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad shall consist of the dayor and deputy mayors elected through direct elections.”

The decision also specified that reserved seats—including those for women, technocrats, youth, peasants, and minorities — are to be filled “through proportional representation based on the votes secured by political parties.”

According to the verdict, the Election Commission is responsible for “delimitation of wards, preparation of electoral rolls, and conducting polls in a fair and transparent manner.”

The verdict said that “no amendment affecting local government elections shall take effect unless the Election Commission has been consulted.”

It highlighted that “the local government system aims to promote effective service delivery, citizen participation, and decentralization of administrative authority.”