ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has once again postponed the local government elections in Islamabad and withdrawn the previously announced election schedule, according to an official notification issued on Thursday.
The elections were earlier scheduled to be held on February 15, but the ECP said the decision was taken in light of a new ordinance issued on January 10, which has altered the local government structure and the electoral mechanism in the federal capital.
Under the newly promulgated Islamabad Local Government Ordinance, significant changes have been introduced to the composition and election process of local bodies. As per the ordinance, Union Council chairmen will serve as general members of Town Corporations.
Each Town Corporation will also include four women members, one farmer or worker representative, one trader or businessman, one youth member, and one non-Muslim member.
The ordinance further states that general members of Union Councils will be elected through secret ballot. Union Councils will be converted into multi-member wards, where each voter will cast a vote for one general member candidate. The nine candidates securing the highest number of votes will be declared elected as general members.
Elected general members will have the option to join any political party within 30 days of their success. These general members will then elect members on reserved seats through a show of hands.
The chairman and vice chairman of the Union Council will also be elected jointly through a show of hands and may join a political party within 30 days of their election.
The Election Commission has not yet announced a revised schedule for the Islamabad local government elections.
The last and first local government ended its tenure in 2021 and since then both the previous PTI and the current PML-N government failed to hold the polls.
