Islamabad HC directs Election Commission to hold local government elections on December 31

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 30 (ANI): The Islamabad High Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold local government elections in Islamabad on December 31 and set aside its notification on the postponement of the polls, the Dawn reported.

The report said, “The verdict was pronounced by IHC Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, who was hearing identical petitions filed by the PTI and the Jamaat-i-Islami against the ECP’s decision announced earlier this week.” The Islamabad High Court, in an order issued on Friday, set aside ECP’s order dated December 27.

“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,” the IHC order read.

“The court order also directed the federal government to provide complete assistance to the electoral body for conducting the local bodies’ elections as mandated by the Constitution,” the Dawn reported.

The report further stated, “On Tuesday, the ECP had postponed the polls ‘for the time being’ at the last minute, frustrating thousands of contestants and their supporters.”
“Keeping in view the legal provisions and the judgment of the Honourable High Court, Islamabad, dated December 27, 2022, regarding the subject matter, local government elections in ICT, scheduled to be held on December 31, 2022, is hereby postponed for the time being,” the ECP had said in its order.

The ECP order came after the Senate, on December 23, in the face of strong protests from the Opposition, passed a Bill increasing the number of UCs in Islamabad.

Recently, the Dawn reported that the participation of women in Pakistan remains negligible as about 17 per cent of seats reserved for women in the Islamabad local government polls have remained uncontested, with none of the political parties able to field candidates on these seats.

According to the report, of the 434 women nominated, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) fielded the most candidates (32per cent), followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at 25 per cent. The report further ran that the PPP nominated 11 candidates.

“It could be attributed to the failure of political parties, women groups, and civil society,” the report stated, adding that as many as 434 women were contesting elections on 202 seats reserved for them — two each in all union councils.

The PTI and PML-N submitted the same number of candidates for seats reserved for minorities, according to the report, although the Jamaat-i-Islami and PPP nominated 12 and six candidates, respectively.

In total, 55 (56pc) of the reserved seats for minorities are still empty, according to the Dawn.