The Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP) has announced the immediate holding of local body elections in Islamabad. The Commission has directed the relevant authorities to present the election schedule immediately so that the local government system can be activated at the urban level.
Declaring the amendment made in the Islamabad Local Government Act as inconsistent with the constitution, the Election Commission has clarified that giving the responsibility of elections to the Secretary Union Council is against the law. According to the commission, only the Election Commission has the authority to appoint DROs and ROs and the Secretary Union Council does not meet the definition of a government officer, therefore he cannot be appointed as the presiding officer. The appointment and appointment of election officers will be done through the notification of the Election Commission.
It should be noted that the term of the local government of Islamabad had expired on February 14, 2021. According to the constitution, the commission and the federal government are bound to hold elections within 120 days, but due to various reasons, these elections have been continuously postponed.
The Election Commission has so far issued delimitation documents five times and election schedules three times, but despite correspondence with the relevant institutions, the elections could not be held.
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