Islamabad High Court suspends the Election Commission’s local government election schedule until November 26, putting the December 20 polls on hold.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) schedule for local government elections in the federal capital, putting the December 20 polls on hold and seeking responses from the relevant authorities by November 26.
Justice Omer Majid Malik issued the interim order on Friday while hearing a petition filed by citizen Amjad Ali, who challenged the legality of the ongoing election process.
According to the petitioner’s lawyer, Advocate Adil Aziz Qazi, the ECP is legally responsible for ensuring free, fair and transparent elections but has failed to fulfil certain legal requirements in the electoral process.
The court accepted the request to suspend the election schedule, issued notices to the ECP and other relevant respondents, and directed them to submit detailed replies by November 26.
According to the written order, the election schedule issued by the ECP on October 21 will remain suspended until the next hearing. The matter is expected to be taken up again after the respondents submit their responses.
The court’s decision comes as preparations were underway for local government elections scheduled for December 20 in Islamabad.
On October 22, the ECP had re-announced the election programme, directing its secretariat to immediately issue the schedule in accordance with the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015.
The announcement followed repeated postponements and legislative changes that had complicated the electoral process. The commission had indicated that elections would proceed under the existing legal framework after the federal government failed to enact new legislation.
The ECP had also expressed disappointment over repeated delays, observing that previous delimitation exercises had become ineffective following amendments to local government laws whenever election preparations were completed.
The latest schedule had followed the withdrawal of an earlier programme that had fixed February 15, 2026, as the polling date. Those elections were postponed after a presidential ordinance introduced changes to the structure of local governments.
Islamabad’s local government elections have faced prolonged delays despite the completion of previous electoral preparations. The last local government elections in the federal capital were held in 2015, while the constitutional term of the elected local government expired in February 2021.
Since then, repeated amendments to local government legislation, changes in the number of union councils and delays in announcing election schedules have left residents without elected local representatives for nearly five years.
The November 26 hearing is expected to determine the next legal developments in the case. Until the court reviews the matter and issues further directions, the December 20 election programme remains suspended.
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