ISLAMABAD: Less than two months before the retirement of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the poll organisation has expressed “disappointment” over the non-conduct of local government elections in Islamabad, announcing to hold, once again, the delimitation exercise for LG polls- this time using its discretion- against the apparent backdrop of the federal government’s failure to carry out the required parliamentary legislation for these polls.
“Whenever the Election Commission completes the preparations for the elections, the laws are amended,” said a statement from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued Wednesday after holding a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.
In the meeting, the ECP “expressed disappointment over non-conduct of local government elections in the federal capital—the ECP has held delimitation exercise four times for the local government elections in Islamabad,” the statement added.
Now, the ECP said, it has decided to hold the delimitation exercise yet again in accordance with the amended Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015 for LG polls in Islamabad.
The Section 17 of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015 provides that the ECP shall conduct the LG elections— and make provisions for the conduct of these polls “if no provisions or no sufficient provisions have been made under this Act or the rules.”
The ECP, after Wednesday meeting, said it has directed its officials concerned to present forthwith the LG polls delimitation schedule for the Commission’s approval.
On 4 September, the ECP notified to “hold in abeyance” the Islamabad LG elections that were scheduled on 9 October, after the Parliament, on 30 August, passed the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Act 2024. This law amended Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015 to increase the number of general members in each union council from six to nine.
Before the new law, the ICT had 125 UCs comprising 750 general wards with each UC comprising six general wards.
Given that each general ward has one general member, the number of general wards in each of 125 UCs would require to be increased from 750 to 1,125 wards—with the creation of 375 new general wards, it is learnt.
This 10 July, the ECP informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) during the hearing of a related case that the LG elections in the federal capital would finally be held on September 29 — after a prolonged delay of over three years.
On 8 August, the poll body formally announced this date and issued the related schedule. On 20 August, the ECP revised ICT LG polls date to October 9, saying, the decision was taken on the request of different political parties and candidates in order to facilitate their inclusion in the electoral process.
Before that, the Islamabad LG polls were scheduled on December 31, 2022, but postponed on the request of the then federal government after the Parliament passed a bill to increase the number of UCs in ICT from 101 to 125.
The ICT LG term expired on February 14, 2021, but the electoral body failed to hold the LG elections in ICT within the 120-day stipulated period under Section 219(4) of the Elections Act 2017.
In a meeting on October 22, the representatives of the federal and Punjab governments separately informed the ECP that the respective preparations for LG elections in ICT and Punjab were complete, and the required legislations would be done soon, not been done till date.
The local bodies’ term in Punjab expired on 31 December 2021. CEC Raja is retiring from his post on the coming January 27.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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