IHC suspends Islamabad local govt election schedule

Court halts December 20 polls over delimitation objections, seeks ECP's response by November 26

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) schedule for local government elections in the federal capital, which were scheduled for December 20, and sought responses from the commission and other respondents by November 26.

Justice Umer Majeed Malik issued the stay order while hearing a petition filed by citizen Amjad Ali through his lawyer, Adil Aziz Qazi, challenging the election schedule over objections to the delimitation of constituencies.

In its written order, the court accepted the petitioner's request to suspend the election schedule and also suspended the ECP notification issued on October 21.

The petitioner's lawyer argued that the delimitation process had been carried out under legislation that was no longer in force, making the election schedule legally questionable.

He told the court that the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Ordinance 2026 had introduced three town corporations and increased the number of union councils from 125 to 130. The ordinance had also replaced the existing system of dividing each union council into nine wards with a delimitation process based on census blocks.

According to the written order, the ECP had issued a final list of 130 union councils on October 14.

Read: ECP orders Islamabad local government elections under 2015 law

The lawyer argued that the ordinance had ceased to have effect under Article 89 of the Constitution after the expiry of a 120-day extension, resulting in the restoration of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015.

Following the restoration of the 2015 law, the ECP decided on October 21 to hold elections under the legislation and issued the election schedule the same day.

However, the petitioner maintained that the commission had not carried out the delimitation of 125 union councils into nine wards or determined the boundaries of the Metropolitan Corporation as required under the restored legislation.

He argued that delimitations conducted under the amended legislation could not serve as the basis for elections under the restored 2015 Act. Fresh delimitation and the preparation of electoral rolls under the Local Government Act 2015 and the Elections Act were necessary before the polls could be held, he contended.

The petitioner further argued that holding elections without completing the required delimitation would violate Article 218(3) of the Constitution, the Local Government Act 2015 and the Elections Act, besides resulting in a waste of public funds.

The court order also recorded the petitioner's counsel's argument that the ECP was legally responsible for ensuring free, fair and transparent elections.

The court issued notices to the ECP and other respondents, directing them to submit their replies by November 26, and adjourned further proceedings until that date.

Background

The dispute over Islamabad's local government elections followed repeated changes to the capital's local government structure, which had disrupted the electoral process several times. The last local government elections were held in 2015, and the elected body's tenure expired in February 2021. The ECP had carried out delimitations six times and issued election schedules on four occasions.

In December 2025, the ECP issued an election schedule for Islamabad's local government polls, fixing February 15, 2026, as the polling date. However, the process was disrupted in January when President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, which replaced the Metropolitan Corporation structure with three town corporations and changed the framework for union councils and their delimitation.

The ECP subsequently withdrew the election programme, saying the changes to the local government structure and the mode of elections required a fresh electoral process.

Under the amended framework, the ECP began a fresh delimitation exercise on July 21 this year. However, the commission said it was still awaiting the necessary notifications defining the boundaries of the three town corporations, the number of union councils in each, and updated maps showing census blocks.

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

It had earlier asked the Ministry of Interior and the Islamabad chief commissioner to provide the required documents and later sent its feedback on the draft Islamabad Local Government Rules to the ministry on July 20, recommending that the legislation and rules be finalised in line with its proposals.

The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Interior approved the proposed legislation on September 3, but the ordinance expired on September 6 before the replacement law could be enacted. The Ministry of Law and Justice also returned the draft rules to the Ministry of Interior, saying there was no legal authority to frame them under an ordinance that had lapsed.

The ECP subsequently issued notices to the interior secretary and Islamabad chief commissioner, summoning them for a hearing on October 21 to explain the delay and assist the commission in determining how the elections could proceed.

At the October 21 hearing, the ECP decided to hold the elections under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015, which had become effective again after the ordinance lapsed.

The commission said the absence of replacement legislation meant it had to proceed under the existing law. It also maintained that holding elections under the 2015 Act would not affect the completed delimitation exercise. The ECP subsequently issued a fresh schedule, fixing December 20 as polling day.