ADاشتہار / AdvertisementGoogle Ad
Islamabad LG Elections: 3,505 File Papers for 1,125 SeatsPakistan
Nomination papers are in for Islamabad’s long-delayed local elections, with polling set for December 27 under a fresh Election Commission programme.
Share:
Islamabad’s long-delayed local government elections took a decisive step forward on Monday, as 3,505 nomination papers were filed for seats across the federal capital’s 125 union councils. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the election programme on November 7, and the deadline for filing papers expired at midnight on Monday, closing the first formal stage of a contest that will choose local representatives for a city that has gone years without elected local government.
The contest covers 1,125 seats in all. Of these, 750 are general seats, 250 are reserved for women and 125 are reserved for minority communities, giving candidates from every section of the capital a place in the race. The scale of the response, with more than three thousand papers filed for just over a thousand seats, points to a crowded field when voters go to the polls.
ADاشتہار / AdvertisementGoogle Ad
Under the programme announced by the commission, the next steps follow in quick succession. Appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers must be filed by November 14. Candidates will then have until November 21 to withdraw their papers, and the final list of candidates will be displayed on November 22. Election symbols will be allotted on November 24, and polling is scheduled for December 27, 2026.
Islamabad will be the first city in Pakistan to elect its local government system under the new law, a distinction the commission has highlighted as the process moves ahead. The previous local bodies in the capital completed their term in February 2021, leaving a gap of around five and a half years in which the city has had no elected local representatives.
The schedule has also drawn a legal challenge. A petition filed in the Islamabad High Court has questioned the election programme and the delimitation of constituencies, asking the court to order fresh delimitation before polling. No ruling on the petition has been reported so far, and the commission’s programme remains in force.
With nominations now closed, attention turns to scrutiny of the papers and the publication of the final candidate lists. For voters in the capital, the December poll will be the first chance in more than five years to choose the councillors who handle neighbourhood-level decisions, from street-level services to community development, in their own union councils.
Tags:Election Commission of PakistanIslamabadIslamabad LG electionsLocal government electionsNomination Papers
Related Coverage
