ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Local Government Act was amended by the parliament and the summary was sent to the president for the final nod.
The Islamabad Local Government Act 2024 will become law once it receives the president's approval.
The Election Commission will then redefine local government constituencies in Islamabad. Under the new Act, each union council in Islamabad will consist of 9 general wards.
The amendment specifies that in direct elections, voters will only cast their votes for candidates in the 9 general wards. These wards will elect representatives for women, youth, minorities, labourers, and farmers.
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Also, the amendment states that in the final stage, 13 members of the Union Council will elect the Chairman and Vice Chairman.
Under the new arrangement, many fear that this time too local bodies elections may not be held.
Wednesday is the last day to submit nomination papers for the local body elections in Islamabad. Previously, these elections were postponed due to modifications made to the Act in 2022.
It is to be recalled that the National Assembly (NA) passed Islamabad Local Government Amendment 2024 on Monday.
Introduced by Federal Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the Bill revises the Islamabad Local Government Election Act to expand the Union Council (UC) representatives: nine general members, one farmer or labourer, one minority representative, one youth representative, and three women.