ECP announces local government elections in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that local government elections will be held in the federal capital, while declaring recent amendments to the Islamabad Local Government Act 2015 as inconsistent with the Constitution and the law, ARY News reported.

The ECP issued its reserved verdict on the conduct of Islamabad’s local body polls, ruling that elections to women and other reserved seats cannot be conducted by the Secretary Local Government.

The Commission stated that appointing DROs, ROs and all election staff is solely the prerogative of the ECP, not any other government department.

According to the decision, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will appoint its officials for election duties from the judiciary or the civil administration, as per requirement.

The ECP further held that the Secretary Local Government does not meet the legal definition of a government officer for the purpose of conducting elections.

Following the verdict, the ECP has directed its concerned wing to prepare and submit the schedule for the Islamabad local government elections.

ECP Announces Punjab LG Elections in December 2025

In October 2025, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided to hold local government (LG) elections in Punjab during the last week of December 2025.

According to the ECP, the elections will be conducted under the existing laws.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has directed that delimitation of constituencies begin tomorrow and asserted that the process must be completed within two months.

The ECP confirmed that the upcoming elections will be conducted in accordance with the Local Government Act 2022, ensuring compliance with the latest legal framework governing local administration in Punjab.

The Election Commission had reserved its decision on the matter following multiple hearings.

During one of the proceedings, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja expressed dissatisfaction over the criticism directed at the ECP for the delay in holding elections, stating, “It is a matter of embarrassment for us that elections are not being held in Islamabad and Punjab.”

The CEC said that the ECP was quite prepared to conduct the local government elections in Punjab; however, some legal complexities were delaying the polls

Sultan Akram Raja said that the summary of the reserved seats for the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The CEC said that amendments to the Local Government Law would be presented to the provincial cabinet within a few days.