ECP all set to hold LG polls in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed preparation to hold Local Government (LG) elections in Islamabad, ARY News reported.

As per details, the Election Commission of Pakistan held a meeting regarding the LG polls in Islamabad.

The secretary stated that the ECP needs a notification of the number of reserved seats and section 17 of the LG Act also needs to be amended.

However, the summary to amend section 17 of the Local Government Act was sent to the cabinet on July 26.

The ECP stated that legislation is the responsibility of the parliament, and the commission will be provided with the legislation needed for the LG polls. The ECP meeting will commence next week again.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) disposed of intra-court appeals filed against the local government (LG) polls in the federal capital after the ECP assured that elections will be held within 120 days.

At the outset of hearing, IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq said that LG elections should be conducted at once as in his opinion there won’t be a need of increasing the UCs for 10 years.

At this, the ECP officials assured the court of holding the LG polls in Islamabad within 120 days. The court also prohibited the federal government from increasing UCs before the upcoming elections.

It is pertinent to mention here that on Dec 30, the Islamabad high court (IHC) ordered to hold local government (LG) elections in the federal capital on December 31.

Soon after the verdict, the federal government, ECP and others filed an intra-court appeal in Islamabad High Court (IHC) against holding Islamabad local government (LG) polls.