ECP orders Islamabad local government elections under 2015 law

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday ordered local government elections in Islamabad to be held under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015, and directed officials to issue the election schedule.

A five-member commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, issued the order after hearing a case concerning the prolonged delay in holding local government elections in the federal capital. Interior Secretary and ECP officials appeared before the commission.

During the hearing, the ECP’s Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Malik told the commission that delimitation in Islamabad had been carried out six times and that election schedules had been issued on four occasions.

He said the last election programme had been issued on October 9, while the final delimitation of constituencies had been published on October 14.

The commission was informed that the presidential ordinance issued by the government had expired on September 6, while the federal government had yet to introduce a new local government law. The interior ministry had also been sent two reminder letters regarding the expiry of the ordinance, officials said.

The special secretary said the rules governing Islamabad’s local government had not been provided and that the ministry of law had refused to approve them. He argued that the 2015 law remained in force and that elections should therefore be held under the existing legislation.

Read: ECP issues notices over delay in Islamabad local govt elections

The interior secretary acknowledged that the facts presented by the ECP were correct, but said proceeding under the 2015 law would mean that the work completed so far would have to be scrapped.

The chief election commissioner, however, said holding elections under the existing law would not affect the delimitation of constituencies.

Raja said the interior minister, interior secretary, Islamabad chief commissioner and a committee of ministers had previously given assurances regarding the conduct of the elections.

“It appears that the government does not want to hold local government elections in Islamabad,” the chief election commissioner said.

He said the Constitution required local government elections to be held under the law and that the commission was being compelled to order the polls.

The chief election commissioner also read out the commission’s short order, directing that the election schedule be issued on Wednesday.

Last week, the ECP summoned the interior secretary and Islamabad chief commissioner for a hearing on October 21 over the continued delay in holding local government elections in the capital. The notices followed the expiry of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, on September 6 without replacement legislation being enacted.

In a statement on October 14, the commission said it had completed the delimitation process and intended to issue the election schedule under the 2015 law if the legal framework remained unresolved. The federal government had pursued new legislation, but the ordinance expired before the process was completed.

Reasons for LG polls delay

Article 140-A of the Constitution requires provinces to establish local government systems by law and devolve political, administrative and financial authority to elected representatives. The ECP is responsible for holding local government elections under Article 140-A and Article 219 of the Constitution.

Islamabad’s last local government elections were held in 2015, and the elected local government’s term expired in February 2021. Fresh polls have since been delayed amid repeated changes to the legal framework.

The ECP had scheduled local government elections in Islamabad, but the process was disrupted in January 2026 when President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, amending the 2015 law and replacing the Metropolitan Corporation structure with three town corporations.

The changes required fresh delimitation and effectively reset the election process, prompting the ECP to cancel the scheduled polls.

The federal government subsequently pursued amendments to the local government law, while a separate committee led by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal worked on proposals for a new Islamabad government structure. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior approved the ICT Local Government Bill 2026 on September 3, but the ordinance expired on September 6 before the replacement legislation was enacted.