ECP to Address Delayed Islamabad LG Polls on Oct 21Pakistan

<h2>Legal vacuum behind the delay</h2> The issue came under deliberation following the lapse of the Islamabad Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, after which the federal government did not enact fresh legislation for the capital&#8217;s local elections. The commission is now considering whether the polls can proceed under the ICT Local Government Act 2015 instead.

Local government elections in Islamabad have been repeatedly postponed since the term of the previous LG system ended on February 21, 2021, leaving the federal capital without elected local representatives for more than five years.

<h2>Khyber Pakhtunkhwa case delisted</h2> Separately, the ECP delisted the case regarding local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was fixed for hearing on October 20. In a delisting notice, the commission said the next date of hearing would be communicated in due course.

The notice was issued after the ECP had earlier directed the KP chief secretary to appear before the bench in connection with the long-pending local polls in the province.

The commission&#8217;s renewed push on local government elections in both the federal capital and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa signals a fresh effort to restore the elected third tier of government in areas where it has remained absent for years.

At the special meeting chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner, the members, the secretary and senior officers reviewed the legal position arising from the lapsed ordinance. The commission had already indicated, after an earlier formal hearing, that the 2015 Act remained available as the governing law for the capital&#8217;s local polls.

Local government elections elect union council representatives responsible for municipal services, development schemes and civic governance at the grassroots level. Their prolonged absence in the federal capital has left those functions without directly elected oversight.