ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered local government elections in the federal capital under the 2015 local government law and directed the relevant authorities to issue the election schedule on the same day.
A five-member commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, held a hearing on local government elections in Islamabad. Interior Secretary and ECP officials appeared before the commission.
During the hearing, ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Malik briefed the commission that delimitation had been carried out six times in Islamabad, while the election schedule had been announced four times. The last election programme was issued on October 9, 2026, under which polling was scheduled to take place in February 2026.
The commission was informed that the presidential order issued by the government had expired on September 6, while the final delimitations were published on October 14. The Ministry of Interior had also been sent reminder letters twice regarding the expiry of the presidential order.
The ECP special secretary maintained that the Islamabad local government rules had not yet been provided and that the Ministry of Law had also refused to approve them. He said the federal government had not introduced a new local government law, while the 2015 law remained in force, making it possible to hold elections under the existing legislation.
During the hearing, the interior secretary acknowledged the facts presented by the ECP but argued that holding elections under the 2015 law would require the proceedings carried out so far to be scrapped.
In response, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja remarked that holding elections under the 2015 law would not affect the delimitation process.
The chief election commissioner said the interior minister, interior secretary, chief commissioner and a committee of ministers had given several assurances, but these had not been implemented. He remarked that it appeared the government did not want to hold local government elections in Islamabad.
He further stated that the Constitution required local government elections to be held under the law and that the ECP was being compelled to order the elections.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the ECP ordered local government elections in Islamabad under the 2015 local government law and directed the relevant authorities to issue the election schedule that day.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja also read out the commission's brief order.