Islamabad Local Government Elections to Be Held Under 2015 Law, ECP Orders Schedule Today
ISLAMABAD, October 21, 2026: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered local government elections in Islamabad to be held under the Islamabad Local Government Act, 2015, announcing that the election schedule will be issued today.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja issued the directive while hearing a case concerning delays in holding local government elections in the federal capital. He observed that the government appeared reluctant to conduct the elections and stressed that local polls must be held in accordance with the relevant law.
ECP Directs Elections Under Existing Law
During the hearing, the ECP’s Special Secretary, Zafar Iqbal Malik, informed the commission that the federal government had introduced an ordinance concerning local government elections. Data and maps had also been obtained, and the delimitation process was underway when the ordinance expired on September 6.
He said the final list of constituencies for Islamabad’s local government elections had been published on October 14. The commission had sent two reminder letters to the Ministry of Interior and informed it about the expiry of the ordinance, but the rules required for the local government elections had not yet been provided.
According to the ECP official, the Ministry of Law declined to approve the rules, while the federal government had not introduced a new local government law. The commission therefore decided to proceed under the existing 2015 legislation.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja stated that conducting elections under the 2015 law would not affect the existing delimitation of constituencies.
Election Delays Under Scrutiny
The chief election commissioner noted that assurances had previously been given by the interior minister, interior secretary, chief commissioner and a committee of ministers regarding the election process. However, the elections had continued to face delays.
He said the commission was compelled to issue an order to ensure that local government elections were held in Islamabad.
Islamabad Has Been Without an Elected Local Government Since 2021
The last local government elections in Islamabad were held in 2015. The elected local government’s term expired on February 14, 2021, but subsequent elections could not be held.
Under the relevant law, new elections were required within 120 days of the completion of the previous local government’s term. Repeated changes in legislation and administrative issues contributed to the prolonged delay.
The ECP has now directed that the election schedule be issued on October 21, 2026, paving the way for the next phase of the local government election process in the federal capital.