The Election Commission of Pakistan instructed officials to conduct local government elections in Islamabad based on the Local Government Act 2015 while ordering them to publish the voting schedule immediately.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja led a five-member bench that presided over the proceedings, which included appearances by the interior secretary and election commission staff.
Zafar Iqbal Malik, who serves as the election commission special secretary, stated during the session that authorities finished delimitation in Islamabad six times and released voting schedules on four separate occasions, noting the previous schedule came out on October 9, 2026, with voting scheduled for February 2026.
He explained to the bench that a presidential ordinance from the government lapsed on September 6, and the election commission released the final delimitation on October 14 while dispatching two reminder letters to the Ministry of Interior regarding the expiration of the ordinance.
Malik mentioned that the administration failed to supply rules for the local government framework in Islamabad, noting the Ministry of Law declined to clear the rules and the federal government has not yet presented a fresh local government statute, meaning the 2015 law stays active and polls must take place through it.
The interior secretary confirmed that the details shared with the commission were accurate, though he warned that moving forward with the 2015 law means authorities must abandon all preparation work finished up to this point.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja countered that conducting votes via the current law leaves the delimitation work intact, pointing out that assurances concerning the polls came from the interior minister, interior secretary, chief commissioner, and a ministerial committee.
Raja voiced worry that the administration seems reluctant to carry out local government voting in Islamabad, emphasizing that the Constitution mandates local polls to happen under the proper law.
The election commission stated it had no choice but to issue the directive and instructed staff to release the election timetable right away.
