The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday ordered that local government elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory be held under the Islamabad Local Government Act, 2015. The commission also directed its office to prepare and issue the poll schedule the same day. A five-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja issued the order while hearing a case about the long delay in holding Islamabad local government elections.
The last elected local government term in the capital expired in February 2021. Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017 requires fresh local government polls within 120 days of a term ending, a deadline that has long passed. In its written decision, the ECP said holding these elections is mandatory under the Constitution and the relevant electoral and local government laws.
Why the polls have been delayed
ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Malik told the bench that delimitation, the process of drawing constituency boundaries, had been carried out six times in Islamabad. Election schedules had been announced on four occasions. The most recent schedule was announced on October 9, and one account gives its polling month as February 2026, which is earlier than the schedule date itself. That detail is unconfirmed and needs official clarification.
Malik also told the commission that a presidential ordinance, a temporary law issued by the president, had expired on September 6. The final delimitation was published on October 14, and the ECP had sent two reminder letters to the Ministry of Interior about the ordinance's expiry. He said the Islamabad local government rules had not been provided and that the Ministry of Law had refused to approve them. He added that the federal government had not introduced a new local government law, so the 2015 law remains in force.
Government response and what comes next
Federal Secretary for Interior Ahmed Raza Sarwar appeared before the bench and acknowledged that the facts presented were correct. He said, however, that holding elections under the 2015 law would mean discarding the work completed so far. The chief election commissioner replied that conducting polls under the existing law would not affect the delimitation process. He noted that the interior minister, the interior secretary, the chief commissioner and a committee of ministers had given assurances on the elections, and none had been implemented.
Sikandar Sultan Raja expressed displeasure over the repeated delays and said the government's conduct suggested it was unwilling to hold local government polls in the capital. He stressed that the Constitution requires these elections to be held under the applicable law. The ECP said it had been compelled to issue the order, and the bench instructed the relevant authorities to take all possible measures to complete the process. At the time of the order, a release date for the schedule and a confirmed polling date had not been announced.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- February 2021: The last elected local government term in the Islamabad Capital Territory expires.
- July 20, 2026: The ECP sends its feedback on the Islamabad Local Government Rules to the Ministry of Interior.
- September 6: The presidential ordinance expires, the commission was told.
- October 9: The most recent election schedule is announced, with a polling month given as February 2026.
- October 14: The final delimitation is published.
- October 21: The ECP orders polls under the 2015 law and directs that the schedule be issued the same day.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Islamabad mein local government ke elections 2015 ke qanoon ke tehat hon ge, aur Election Commission ne kaha hai ke schedule foran jaari kiya jaye. Ye elections is liye ruki hui thin ke pichli local government ki muddat February 2021 mein khatam ho gayi thi. Abhi tak polling ki pakki tareekh ka elaan nahi hua, is liye shehri official notice ka intezar karein. Agar elections hoti hain to shehar ko chune hue local representatives mil sakte hain.
