The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking postponement of the local government (LG) elections in Islamabad.
The PML-N in its application, submitted to IHC, pleaded with the court to delay LG polls in the federal capital on the pretext of an increase in the number of union councils The party has urged the court to accept its application for an early hearing. The federal government Tuesday increased the number of union councils (UCs) in Islamabad 10 days before the scheduled polling day for local government elections, surprising candidates as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The federal cabinet approved the amendment in number of the union councils after which the federal government notified the increase in the number of UCs in the federal capital territory. The notification stated that under the Local Bodies Act the demarcation of Union Councils must be based on the population figures of Islamabad thus the number of union councils to be increased to 125 from existing 101.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said the elections would be held as per schedule on Dec 31. “The Election Commission in exercise of its power under Articles 140-A (2), Article 218, (3) Article 219(d) and Article 222 of the Constitution read with Section 219 of Elections Act, 2017 and all other enabling provisions of law hereby decides to continue elections process notwithstanding the notification dated 19-12-2022 issued by the federal government as the said notification is in violation of Section 4 (4) of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015,” read the ECP’s order.—INP
