The Election Commission of Pakistan has directed its office to prepare and issue the schedule for the long-delayed local government elections in Islamabad today.
A five-member bench of the commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the case on Wednesday and ordered that the election programme be announced the same day to fulfil constitutional and legal requirements.
The bench ruled that the polls would be conducted in accordance with the Constitution, the Elections Act 2017 and the Islamabad Local Government Act 2015. Holding local government elections in the federal capital is a constitutional obligation, the bench observed.
Federal Secretary Interior Ahmed Raza Sarwar and Additional Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Uzair Ali Khan appeared before the bench during the hearing.
The written decision was signed by the chief election commissioner along with all four members of the commission. The officials present assured the bench that the interior ministry was ready to assist in conducting the exercise strictly in accordance with the law.
The bench made it clear that no further delay in announcing the programme would be acceptable, and directed the ECP office to complete the remaining formalities and publish the schedule the same day.
Local government elections in the federal capital have been pending for years, leaving Islamabad’s union councils without elected representatives despite repeated court directions. Once issued, the schedule will set in motion the electoral process for local bodies in the city under the 2015 local government law.
