Islamabad Local Body Polls to Proceed Under 2015 Law; Schedule Due Today
ECP orders elections under the existing law as Chief Election Commissioner questions government’s willingness to hold the long-delayed polls.
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday ordered local government elections in Islamabad under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015, following a hearing on repeated delays in the electoral process.
A five-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the matter, with the interior secretary and senior ECP officials appearing before it.
According to the hearing details, the commission directed that an election schedule be issued the same day. The direction to issue a schedule should be distinguished from its formal publication: polling and nomination dates will be confirmed through the ECP’s notification.
The reported order follows the commission’s earlier decision to examine whether elections could proceed under the 2015 law after the Islamabad Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, expired without replacement legislation being completed. A separate media report also carried the commission’s decision to proceed under the 2015 law.
Six Delimitation Exercises, Four Election Schedules
Briefing the commission, ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Malik said constituency delimitation had been undertaken six times and election schedules issued on four occasions.
He said the commission had obtained the necessary maps and data and proceeded with delimitation, but the amendment ordinance expired on September 6 while the process was underway. According to his briefing, final delimitation lists were published on October 14.
Malik told the commission that the Interior Ministry had received two reminder letters and had also been informed about the ordinance’s expiry.
He said the required local government rules had still not been supplied, while the Law Ministry had declined to vet them. With replacement legislation incomplete, he recommended allowing elections to proceed under the existing 2015 law.
Earlier reporting on the ECP’s October 14 meeting said the commission had sent its recommendations on the proposed rules to the Interior Ministry on July 20. Although the relevant standing committee approved legislation on September 3, the legislative process remained incomplete when the ordinance expired.
Interior Secretary Raises Concerns
The interior secretary acknowledged the factual account presented during the hearing but argued that returning to the 2015 framework would require the electoral arrangements to be reworked.
The chief election commissioner responded that proceeding under the 2015 law would not affect constituency delimitation.
Raja also referred to earlier assurances given by government representatives, including the interior minister, interior secretary and Islamabad chief commissioner, concerning the holding of elections.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the continuing delays, he observed that the government appeared unwilling to hold local government elections in Islamabad. The remark was an observation made during the proceedings.
Reading out the short order, the chief election commissioner directed that elections proceed under the 2015 law.
What the Decision Means for Islamabad
The order provides a route towards restarting the capital’s local electoral process after repeated changes to the governing framework.
An official ECP notification dated December 26, 2025, confirms that an earlier revised election schedule had been issued under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015, and the associated election rules.
For prospective candidates and voters, the next practical step is publication of the fresh schedule, which will establish the deadlines for nominations, scrutiny, appeals, withdrawal of candidature and polling.
