Islamabad : Local Government Elections Face Another Delay Amid Legal and Administrative Changes
Islamabad: Local government elections in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, are once again surrounded by uncertainty. The polls, which were scheduled to take place on February 15, are now likely to be postponed for the fifth time. This renewed delay follows the federal cabinet’s approval of multiple amendments to the Local Government Act, 2015, a move that has significantly complicated the legal and administrative framework required to conduct the elections. Over the past several years, repeated changes in laws, boundaries, and administrative structures have kept the residents of Islamabad waiting for a functional local government system.
Background of the Recent Amendments
The federal cabinet recently approved fourteen amendments to the existing local government law. One of the most notable changes is the replacement of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad with a new structure known as Town Corporations. Under this revised system, the capital will be divided into three separate town corporations. Each town corporation broadly corresponds to the territorial limits of one National Assembly constituency, as Islamabad currently has three such constituencies.
According to an official statement issued after the cabinet meeting, the cabinet endorsed the decisions taken earlier by the Cabinet Committee for Legislative Cases. These decisions also included the confirmation of actions taken under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Amendment Ordinance, 2025. Although the government argues that these changes are aimed at improving governance and service delivery, critics believe they have further delayed a process that was already years overdue.
Election Commission and Legal Uncertainty
The Election Commission of Pakistan has not formally announced a postponement of the February elections. However, the latest amendments have raised serious questions about whether it is practically possible to hold the polls as scheduled. Any major change in the structure of local government requires fresh delimitation, updated rules, and adequate preparation time, all of which make an imminent election highly unlikely.
When the election schedule was announced last month, the local chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf publicly claimed that the government would eventually avoid holding the polls in February. This claim was strongly rejected by the local leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which maintained that the amendments were essential reforms and expressed confidence in repeating its earlier electoral success in the capital.
Expired Mandate and Repeated Delays
The term of Islamabad’s last local government ended in February 2021. Since then, elections have been postponed repeatedly due to legal disputes, political disagreements, and administrative changes. As a result, the capital has been without an elected local government for nearly four years, a situation that has directly affected governance at the grassroots level.
During this prolonged period, approximately 2.5 million residents of Islamabad have continued to face serious civic challenges. Issues such as water shortages, deteriorating road infrastructure, waste management problems, and lack of accountability have become increasingly common. In the absence of elected representatives, decision-making has largely remained centralized, limiting citizen participation in local affairs.
Delimitation Exercises and Cancelled Schedules
The Election Commission has carried out delimitation exercises several times in an attempt to prepare for local elections. On multiple occasions, election schedules were announced, only to be withdrawn later due to new objections or legal changes. In one particularly controversial instance, the polls were cancelled just one day before voting was due to take place, causing frustration among voters and candidates alike.
When the local government’s term expired in 2021, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was in power at the federal level. Under the law, elections were required to be held within 120 days, but no significant progress was made. The subsequent Pakistan Democratic Movement government also failed to move the process forward, citing disagreements over the number of union councils in the capital.
Disputes Over Union Councils
One of the main reasons behind the repeated delays has been the ongoing dispute over the number of union councils in Islamabad. Initially, elections were planned for 50 union councils. Later, the government argued that the number should be increased to 101 to better reflect population growth and administrative needs. This disagreement led to further postponements.
Subsequently, the proposed number of union councils was increased again to 125. Even after elections were scheduled on this basis, additional changes were introduced to general seats, creating more legal and logistical hurdles. Last month, the Election Commission finally decided to hold elections for 125 union councils, but the government soon introduced fresh amendments that restructured the entire local government system into three town corporations.
Historical Context of Local Elections in Islamabad
The first and only local government elections in Islamabad were held during 2015 and 2016. In those elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz emerged victorious, and Sheikh Anser Aziz was elected as the mayor of the capital. At that time, Islamabad had 50 union councils, and the local government system functioned under a relatively stable legal framework.
Since then, frequent policy shifts and political disagreements have prevented the continuity of local democratic governance. The ongoing uncertainty has raised concerns about democratic accountability, effective service delivery, and the overall credibility of the electoral process in the capital.