Pakistan’s top election body orders immediate local government elections in capital

Pakistan’s top election body directed on Monday the immediate holding of local government elections in the federal capital, Islamabad, after repeated delays.

Islamabad’s local governments had their term expire on February 14, 2021. Under Pakistan’s constitution, local elections are required to be held within 120 days of the end of a government’s term. However, the polls were postponed multiple times.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it carried out five rounds of boundary delimitation and issued the election schedule three times, but elections could not take place. Correspondence with other institutions also failed to resolve the delays.

The commission formally heard the case on November 13, 2025 and issued its final decision on November 17, directing authorities to immediately present the election schedule.

The ECP declared a recent amendment to Section 15(2) of the Islamabad Local Government Act 2015 — which gave Union Council Secretaries responsibility for conducting elections — unconstitutional and unlawful. The commission said elections cannot be managed by these officials.

Invoking constitutional Articles 218(3), 140-A, 220, 219, and 222, along with Sections 50, 219, and 224 of the Elections Act 2017, the ECP said the amendment conflicts with Pakistan’s constitution and election laws.

The commission said it will appoint its own District Returning Officers, Returning Officers, and Assistant Returning Officers from its staff, the judiciary, or civil administration. Union Council Secretaries do not qualify as “public officers” and cannot serve as presiding officers. Elections will be conducted exclusively by ECP-appointed officers.