Despite the Election Commission (ECP) announcing that local government elections in Islamabad would be held on October 9, the federal government pushed through a bill to amend the Islamabad Local Government Act in the National Assembly. The bill, which was passed amid opposition from PTI, was introduced by Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar and seeks to increase the number of seats in union councils (UCs), requiring a new delimitation of constituencies.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan criticized the bill, arguing that if the legislation was necessary, it should not interfere with the already scheduled elections. The opposition demanded assurances that the elections would proceed as planned, but Tarar stated that the timing of elections is solely within the ECP’s jurisdiction.
PML-N representatives, including Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Raja Khurram Nawaz, argued that any minor delays would be acceptable for implementing a better local government model. They compared their plans to successful models in New Delhi and London.
The new bill proposes increasing the general seats in UCs from six to nine and women’s seats from two to three, which could delay the elections due to the need for new constituency delimitation. This follows a previous extension of the election schedule by the ECP from September 29 to October 9. PTI leaders allege that the government is using legislative changes to avoid elections, citing a history of delays and changes in UC numbers.
Former deputy mayor Syed Zeeshan Naqvi from PML-N denied the claim of election evasion, stating that the legislation aims to improve the UC composition. The local government’s term ended in February 2021, and new elections should have been held within six months. The last elections were in 2016, and since then, local governance in Islamabad has faced issues including lack of funding and support from central government.
