Islamabad LG polls’ schedule challenged in court

Petitioners demand number of UCs increased prior to holding elections

ISLAMABAD:

A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s notification regarding the schedule for holding local government elections in Islamabad.

The petitioner has pleaded to stop the holding of local government elections in Islamabad without increasing the number of union councils.

Earlier, the ECP issued a revised schedule for holding the local government elections in Islamabad with polling slated for July 31.

The local leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan People’s Party has filed the petition in the IHC.

The petitioners have made the home secretary, the federation and the ECP as respondents. The petition said that the federal government had issued a notification on May 21 to increase the number of union councils in Islamabad. The number of union councils in Islamabad had been increased from 50 to 101. However, the ECP announced the schedule for local government elections without increasing the number of union councils.

The petition said that the ECP was bound to increase the number of union councils prior to holding local government elections. The petition has sought the annulment of the June 2 notification regarding the election schedule issued by the ECP.

Earlier on May 21, the ECP withdrew the schedule for local government elections in Islamabad soon after it announced to hold polls on July 17.

ECP spokesperson Haroon Shinwari had said that the schedule for local government elections was withdrawn owing to technical deficiencies in the notification.

Earlier, the 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.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2022.