The Islamabad local government elections have become the subject of a fresh dispute over scheduling after the Islamabad chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to extend the deadline for submitting nomination papers by at least 10 days. The party says its prospective candidates were unable to obtain the forms on Friday, a claim that Dawn reported without any response from the commission.
Allegations Over Access to Nomination Papers
Speaking to Dawn, PTI Islamabad president and core committee member Amir Mughal alleged that candidates could not collect nomination papers despite the schedule issued by the ECP for polls in 125 union councils. He claimed that no staff were present at the offices of the returning officers and that watchmen at some schools and offices told candidates the forms would be available on Monday.
Mr Mughal called for an immediate extension of at least 10 days so that candidates could obtain, complete and submit the paperwork with sufficient time. He also questioned how the polls were being conducted and alleged that the government and the ECP were preparing to delay or avoid the elections for the fifth time. These are the party’s allegations, and the report does not indicate that they have been independently verified.
PTI’s Wider Objections to the Process
The PTI leader also criticised the legal framework under which the Islamabad local government elections are to be held, arguing that elected representatives would have limited authority while major powers would remain with the bureaucracy. He further alleged that the same Election Commission leadership was overseeing these polls as had conducted the 2024 general elections, which he described as rigged.
According to Mr Mughal, PTI Islamabad had decided to contest after consultations within its organisation, including more than 25 meetings over three days involving over 400 office-bearers. He added that residents facing displacement from their ancestral land and homes, as well as people living in informal settlements, would voice their grievances through the ballot, and he expressed confidence that the party would perform strongly in a city he described as a traditional PTI stronghold.
How the Schedule for the Islamabad Local Government Elections Was Set
The dispute follows a long history of postponements. On October 21, a five-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja directed its office to prepare and issue an election programme for the Islamabad Capital Territory in accordance with the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015, the Elections Act, 2017, and the rules made under them. The order came during proceedings on the delays in holding the polls, in which the interior secretary and officials of the chief commissioner’s office appeared before the commission.
The ECP subsequently scheduled polling for December 20. Dawn reported that October 30 was set for the issuance of a public notice inviting nomination papers, and that the commission had reserved December 21 to 24 for the consolidation of results. PTI’s regional leadership had earlier directed its district and town organisations to file nomination papers in every ward across all union councils between November 2 and 6, and the party said it intended to contest all 125 seats.
A Capital Without an Elected Local Government
The capital has been without an elected local government for more than five years. The only local government elections held in Islamabad took place in 2015 for 50 union councils, and the term of that local government expired in February 2021. Under Article 140A of the Constitution and Section 219(4) of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP is required to hold fresh elections within 120 days of the expiry of a local government’s term.
That requirement has not been met. The number of union councils was raised from 50 to 101 and then to 125, and polls scheduled for December 31, 2022 were postponed after the government amended the law to increase the number of union councils to 125.
A schedule announced for February 15, 2026 was later withdrawn after an ordinance promulgated in January changed the structure of local government in the capital and necessitated fresh delimitations. That ordinance lapsed on September 6, before replacement legislation could be enacted, and the ECP has since decided to proceed under the 2015 Act. An ECP official told the commission that delimitation had been carried out six times and election schedules issued four times, with final delimitations published on October 14.
What Happens Next
Whether the commission will grant PTI Islamabad the extension it has sought remains unclear, as Dawn’s report did not carry a response from the ECP. The outcome will bear directly on the Islamabad local government elections, which are meant to end an absence of elected local representation that has lasted since 2021.
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