Islamabad LG polls in limbo as IHC stays ECP election order

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday suspended the schedule for local government elections in the federal capital and stayed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order for polls until the next hearing on November 26.

The ECP on October 21 announced that local government elections in Islamabad would be held on December 20 and issued the election schedule on the same day, reviving an electoral process that had been repeatedly delayed since the previous elected local government completed its term in 2021.

The court issued an interim stay order on a petition filed by an Islamabad resident, Amjad Ali, through advocate Adil Aziz Qazi, challenging the legal basis of the election process and the delimitation of constituencies.

According to the written order, the ECP is constitutionally and legally responsible for ensuring that elections are conducted in a fair, just and transparent manner.

The petitioner argued that the Islamabad Local Government Ordinance, 2026 had ceased to have effect, following which the original Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015 stood revived.

Under the schedule, the ECP was to issue a public notice inviting nomination papers on October 30, with candidates allowed to file their papers from November 2 to November 6. The names of nominated candidates were to be published on November 7, followed by scrutiny from November 9 to November 13.

The petitioner, however, questioned whether the constituencies required for holding elections under the revived 2015 law had been properly determined.

According to the lawyer, there was no valid decision regarding the delimitation of 125 union councils, their nine wards each, or the constituencies of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI).

The court was told that delimitations carried out under the amended law could not automatically form the basis for elections under the original Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015.

The petitioner further argued that fresh delimitations and preparation of electoral rolls were necessary under the Local Government Act and the Elections Act before the local government elections could be held.

The lawyer maintained that proceeding with the elections without completing the required delimitation process would be contrary to Article 218(3) of the Constitution, which requires the ECP to organise and conduct elections honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law.

The petition sought the annulment of the ECP’s October 21 order and the election schedule issued for the December 20 polls.

The IHC, while issuing the interim order, suspended the ECP’s order and the election schedule until November 26, when the case will next be heard.

The ECP had also empowered the district returning officer (DRO) and returning officers (ROs) appointed for Islamabad’s local government elections with the powers of first-class magistrates, enabling them to take legal action against election-related offences.

On September 2, the federal cabinet had approved a new local government system for Islamabad, under which the federal capital will be divided into three councils, each headed by its own mayor.

The December 20 polls had been expected to revive the local government system in Islamabad after the capital remained without an elected local government following the completion of the previous body’s term in 2021.