ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday suspended the upcoming local government elections in the federal capital, putting the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) latest election schedule on hold until the next hearing.
Last week, a writ petition was filed by Chaudhry Amjad Ali, who had challenged the ECP’s short order and the subsequent election scheduleboth dated Oct 21, 2026, for holding local government elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
He argued that the polls, scheduled for Dec 20, could not be held until the legal status of the existing constituency delimitation was conclusively determined.
A single-member bench comprising Justice Umair Majeed Malik granted the interim relief while hearing the writ petition on Friday.
“Operation of the impugned order dated Oct 21, 2026, and the impugned election schedule dated Oct 21, 2026, as revised by the Election Commission, shall remain suspended until the next date of hearing,” the court order read.
The court also issued notices to the respondents, directing them to submit their reports and para-wise comments before the next hearing, scheduled for Nov 26, 2026.
Advocate Barrister Qazi Adil Aziz appeared for the petitioner, along with Malik Talha and Muhammad Yaseen Iqbal.
They argued that under Articles 140-A(2), 218(3) and 219(d) of the Constitution, the ECP was “duty-bound to hold local government elections honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with the law”.
The counsel contended that the election programme had become legally compromised due to legislative changes between the original Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015 (LG Act 2015), and the subsequent Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Ordinance, 2026 (LG Ordinance 2026).
According to the petition, the LG Act 2015 provided for one Metropolitan Corporation and 125 Union Councils, each divided into nine wards. The delimitation process for this structure began in December 2024, and an election programme was issued on Dec 26, 2025, but was subsequently withdrawn.
Meanwhile, the LG Ordinance 2026 altered the capital’s local government structure by introducing three Town Corporations, changing the process for constituting and delimiting Union Councils, removing the nine-ward structure and providing for delimitation on the basis of census blocks. Consequently, the number of Union Councils increased from 125 to 130.
The counsel submitted that the ECP subsequently issued revised delimitation timelines on Aug 25, 2026, and completed the process with the publication of the final list of 130 Union Councils on Oct 14, 2026.
However, after a single 120-day extension, the LG Ordinance 2026 ceased to have effect under Article 89 of the Constitution, resulting in the revival of the original LG Act 2015. At this point, the counsel argued, the ECP suddenly issued the impugned order and election schedule to conduct polls under the original LG Act 2015.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that the impugned order did not address the delimitation of the 125 Union Councils, their nine wards or the Metropolitan Corporation under the revived law. They argued that the delimitation carried out under the amended law could not serve as the basis for elections under the revived LG Act 2015.
They therefore maintained that fresh delimitation and preparation of electoral rolls in accordance with the LG Act 2015 and the Elections Act, 2017, were necessary before the elections could lawfully be held.
The counsel further argued that holding elections without completing the required delimitation would violate Article 218(3) of the Constitution and the electoral framework under the LG Act 2015 and the Elections Act, besides resulting in unnecessary expenditure of public funds.
After hearing the initial arguments, the court observed that the points raised required consideration and suspended the operation of the ECP’s order and election schedule until the next hearing, scheduled for Nov 26.
Later in the day, in compliance with the IHC order, the ECP suspended the local election programme in Islamabad till the date of the next hearing, as per a notification issued by the ECP Secretariat.
On Thursday, Chief Election Commissioner CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja accused the federal government of trying to sabotage the local government elections in Islamabad.
The local government elections in Islamabad have faced numerous delays and postponements since the term of the last local government expired in February 2021.
The ECP has issued multiple schedules, only to cancel them later for various reasons, including legislative changes and court orders. The delimitation of constituencies and union councils was carried out six times, while the election schedule was issued four times.
The ECP had decided that, since the local government law enacted in 2015 was still in force, elections would be held under the Act. This meant polls would be held in 50 constituencies, after which the mayor and deputy mayors would be elected.
After the completion of various stages of the electoral process, it had decided that polling would be held on Dec 20. The ECP had reserved four days, from December 21 to 24, for the consolidation of results.
Source: www.dawn.com
