Govt expresses inability to hold LG polls in Islamabad despite IHC orders

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that the government was not in a position to hold local government elections in Islamabad on December 31.

"We respect the court's order, but holding the elections is not possible as the arrangements cannot be made in such a short period," the federal minister told the media.

The minister said that due to the security situation in the capital, at least 1,000 polling stations need security, while the election material was still not deployed at the stations. "This isn't possible in less than 24 hours."

Sanaullah's statement comes in response to the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) orders, directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold local government (LG) elections in Islamabad on Saturday after nullifying the ECP’s notification of delay in the polls.

"The federal government is directed to provide all the assistance to the ECP for conducting the local bodies’ elections as mandated by the Constitution," Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir said in a one-page short order.

Reacting to the court's order, the minister added that since the "ground realities" do not permit the government to ensure the polls take place, the centre was going to file an intra-court appeal against the order.

Sanaullah said a new schedule should be issued for the polls, and there is no other way to hold the elections as he ruled out assisting the ECP.

"It isn't possible [to assist] the commission. We cannot provide security in such a short time period for 1,000 polling stations," he added.

Earlier, the court had asked the federal government to ensure that it assisted the ECP in holding the local government polls.

"The Ministry of Interior's December 19 notification has been declared null and void and so is the December 27 notification of the ECP," the order cited.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan is directed to hold the local government elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory as per the schedule already announced i.e. on 31.12.2022,” it said.

The court also expressed dismay over the government's attitude.

"We are disappointed in the government," it said. 

The ECP has called an emergency meeting to discuss the issue.

In the meeting, the ECP concluded that it cannot hold elections tomorrow and a delegation will meet the Attorney General of Pakistan shortly.

The ECP plans to file an intra-court appeal to seek a one-week time for the LG polls in Islamabad as "printing of ballot papers is yet to be done".

On Tuesday, the ECP postponed LG elections in Islamabad “owing to a change in the number of union councils in the federal capital.” It also stated that the new date for the polls would be announced later.

In a hearing, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) counsel Ashtar Ausaf argued that the number of union councils in Islamabad was increased from 101 to 125 based on the surge in the population. He also called for changes in constituencies.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja inquired whether the census report had been published.

Ausaf replied that the census bureau had informed him about the increase in Islamabad’s population. The petition was lodged by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami.

On Wednesday, IHC issued a notice to ECP for delaying the polls.