In a surprising move, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday withdrew the schedule for local government elections in Islamabad soon after set the timetable for holding polls on July 17.
ECP spokesperson Haroon Shinwari said that the schedule for local government elections has been withdrawn owing to technical deficiencies. He said that the new schedule will be announced on Monday.
Earlier, the ECP announced that the local body elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory will be held on July 17.
The election commission had also banned appointments, transfers and new development projects in the federal capital till the elections were held.
Automatically, the ban on the appointment and transfer of officers stands lifted till the announcement of the new schedule, while development schemes in Islamabad will also continue.
The ECP had earlier said that candidates can submit nomination papers from May 30 and June 3. The nomination papers will be scrutinised between June 6 and June 8.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had annulled the Islamabad Local Government Ordinance 2021.
The court had directed the government to hold local body elections in Islamabad under the Local Government Act 2015.
IHC judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had ruled on petitions – filed by former UC chairman Sardar Mehtab, CDA trade union and CDA Officers Association - against the Islamabad Local Government Ordinance 2021.
Last year, the ordinance was challenged in the high court through various petitions which raised questions about the future of elected representatives in the presence of the Local Government Act, limiting the role of the chairman by introducing a new local government system through an ordinance and in the absence of a formal law under it.
During the proceedings, Barrister Omar Ijaz Gilani, Qazi Adil, Kashif Malik and other lawyers had presented arguments on behalf of the petitioners.
The public prosecutor also prayed that the parliamentary session ended on November 19 whereas the ordinance was issued on November 23.
The court declared the ordinance null and void and said that local body elections should be held under the Local Government Act 2015.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2022.
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