The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has declared the federal government’s move to increase union councils (UCs) of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) illegal ahead of the upcoming local government elections.
In its order, the ECP issued directives to continue the election process on the basis of 101 UCs and declared that the increase in UCs is unlawful.
The development comes after the federal government approved the summary to raise Islamabad’s UCs from 101 to 125 ahead of local polls, which are scheduled for 31 December.
According to the ECP’s order, the government’s move violated Section 4 (4) of the ICT Act, 2015, which requires the government to amend the delimitations of constituencies in consultation with the ECP. The government, however, cannot revise the limits of local areas after elections are announced, Section 4 (4) further adds.
Moreover, the ECP’s order noted that the commission, in accordance with Articles 140-A (2), 218 (3), 219 (d), and 220 of the Constitution, has decided to carry on the election process despite the government’s illegal notification to increase the UCs.
The ECP announced the schedule for conducting the demarcation of 101 UCs for elections on 22 June 2022 and the process of delimitation was concluded on 22 August 2022, after which the commission issued the schedule to conduct the local government elections based on those 101 UCs.