Islamabad LG Polls: CEC Accuses Government of Sabotage Bid

The Islamabad LG polls have become the centre of an unusually public institutional fight.

Pakistan's chief election commissioner has accused the federal government of sabotage.

Sikandar Sultan Raja said the government wants to derail the capital's local elections.

He made the charge during an Election Commission hearing on Thursday.

A day later, a court suspended the very schedule he had vowed to protect.

Between the accusation and the stay order, the Islamabad LG polls face fresh uncertainty.

The capital has already waited nearly five years for an elected local government.

What the CEC said about the Islamabad LG polls

Raja made his remarks while heading a three-member ECP bench in Islamabad.

The bench was hearing alleged code of conduct violations in the NA-77 by-election.

Dawn reported that the CEC took exception to a government direction on staffing.

The federal government had directed that teachers should not be assigned election duties.

Raja asked where the Election Commission would bring staff from without them.

"The Election Commission issues directions to the prime minister and the government."

"Directions do not come from them to us," he told the hearing.

Taking serious notice, he accused the government of a deliberate attempt.

"The federal government wants to sabotage the Islamabad local government elections."

"I make it clear that local government elections will be held in Islamabad," he said.

Dawn reported the commission had scheduled the vote for December 20.

The last local government term in the capital expired in February 2021.

Under the Elections Act, polls were due within 120 days of that expiry.

PTI leaders have voiced similar complaints about the government's intentions.

The party has long demanded local elections in the capital and elsewhere.

The NA-77 hearing behind the remarks

The Islamabad LG polls row erupted during a separate but related case.

The bench was examining alleged violations during the recent NA-77 by-election.

ECP Secretary Omar Hamid briefed the bench on a candidate's application.

He said the Central Muslim League candidate had approached the returning officer.

The application claimed two senior ruling party figures visited the constituency.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Farooq Tarar were named in it.

The bench directed that all members appear in person at the next hearing.

The hearing in the NA-77 matter was adjourned until December 1.

The same day, the commission published an updated list of registered parties.

Dawn reported the list covers 160 enlisted political parties in Pakistan.

An updated list also excluded several party heads over intra-party poll issues.

The CEC himself remains a point of legal debate in the background.

Raja continues in office by virtue of the 26th Amendment.

His constitutionally mandated five-year term ended on January 26, 2025.

Even so, his public clash with the government drew the most attention.

Court stay halts the Islamabad LG polls schedule

On Friday, the story took a sharp turn in the Islamabad High Court.

Justice Umair Majeed Malik suspended the schedule for the Islamabad LG polls.

Geo News reported the court stayed the ECP notification dated October 21.

The judge announced a reserved verdict on a petition against the elections.

The petitioner, Amjad Ali, challenged the basis of the current schedule.

His counsel said new delimitation was carried out in 2024.

After that, a new Local Government Ordinance was introduced in 2026.

The argument is that the schedule ignored the earlier delimitation once the ordinance lapsed.

The court issued a notice to the Election Commission for its response.

Geo News reported the commission must reply by November 26.

Until the case is decided, the election schedule remains suspended.

That means the December 20 date is legally on hold for now.

The ECP insists the Islamabad LG polls will proceed as scheduled.

The stay order, however, is binding unless the court lifts it.

The commission can contest the stay and press for an early hearing.

Its reply by November 26 will be the next major development.

Why the capital has waited five years

Islamabad has had no elected local government since February 2021.

Administrators have run the capital's civic affairs in the meantime.

Residents elect union council representatives and a mayor in local polls.

Section 219(4) of the Elections Act 2017 sets the 120-day requirement.

Successive delays have pushed the vote far beyond that legal window.

Election bodies, meanwhile, depend on governments for staff and funds.

Without teachers and other public staff, polling becomes hard to organise.

The fight over the Islamabad LG polls is therefore about more than staffing.

It is about who controls the timing of democratic exercises in the capital.

Will ballots finally be printed for a December vote in Islamabad?

The court's next steps, and the ECP reply, will decide that.

For now, the Islamabad LG polls remain promised, contested and suspended.

Islamabad LG polls: common questions

When are the Islamabad LG polls scheduled? The Election Commission scheduled them for December 20, Dawn reported. However, the Islamabad High Court has now suspended the schedule through a stay order, so the date is legally on hold.

Why did the CEC accuse the government of sabotage? Sikandar Sultan Raja said the federal government directed that teachers should not be assigned election duties. He argued the commission cannot arrange polling staff without teachers and called the move an attempt to sabotage the polls.

Why did the Islamabad High Court suspend the schedule? Justice Umair Majeed Malik stayed the ECP's October 21 notification on a petition by Amjad Ali. The petition concerns the 2024 delimitation and a 2026 Local Government Ordinance. The ECP must respond by November 26.

When did Islamabad last have an elected local government? The last elected local government's term expired in February 2021. The capital has been run without elected local representatives since then.

What does the law say about the timing of local polls? Section 219(4) of the Elections Act 2017 requires the Election Commission to hold local government elections within 120 days of a term's expiry. That deadline passed years ago in Islamabad's case.

What happens next in the Islamabad LG polls case? The Election Commission will file its response by November 26. The court will then decide whether the stay continues or the December 20 schedule can proceed.