ECP notes Centre's 'non-assistance' among reasons for delay in Islamabad LG polls, summons chief commissioner

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday noted the “non-assistance” of the federal government among the reasons for the delay in local government polls for Islamabad, summoning the city’s chief and deputy commissioners on July 7. The term of the last local government in Islamabad expired in February 2021, and since then, elections have been delayed under various pretexts. On Wednesday, a four-member ECP bench chaired by its Sindh member Nisar Ahmed Durrani resumed hearing the case. Appearing before the electoral watchdog, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon said the district administration has provided the maps required for the LG polls in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In its subsequent order, the ECP said it was of the “considered view that the process of conduct of Local Government Election in ICT has been delayed on various accounts, including non-assistance of the federal government as mandated under the Constitution and law”. It expressed its “serious concern about not being provided the requisite data to ensure the timely conduct of local government elections in ICT”. The ECP noted the DC had maintained that the matter was pending before the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), where the draft notification regarding the number of union councils (UCs) had been sent for cabinet approval. Therefore, the commission advised its secretary to approach the adviser to the prime minister to ensure the approval of the required notifications of limits of town corporations and the number of UCs in each town corporation. Furthermore, the ECP also directed ICT Chief Commissioner retired Lt Sohail Ashraf and DC Memon to appear in person at the next hearing at 10am on July 7 (Tuesday). “The Commission observed that the local government election in ICT has been sufficiently delayed,” the order read. “It is the constitutional duty of the Commission in terms of Article 140-A (2) of the Constitution read with Article 219(d) and further read with