— Election tribunal insists frantic postponement just ‘for the time being’
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed “for the time being” the much-anticipated elections for local governments in Islamabad scheduled for December 31 on the pretext of an increase in the number of union councils.
Last week, the federal government decided to delay polls, announcing an increase in the number of seats in the capital from 101 to 125, at a time when the vote was just round the corner.
This increase in the union councils required new delimitations — a process that is expected to take several months to complete.
Initially, the election tribunal rejected these amendments saying the move was against the election laws, and announced the elections would be held per the schedule.
But, on Thursday, the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition, in a frantic attempt to delay the polls, passed a government bill seeking to increase the number of union councils, less than 10 days ahead of the polling day.
The bill was passed with the house visibly lacking quorum throughout the proceedings which lasted less than 40 minutes.
On Tuesday, a five-member bench of the commission announced the judgement it had reserved earlier in the day after arguments in the case were concluded.
ECP’s Short Order in ICT LGE case:
Keeping in view the legal provisions & the judgement of the Hon’ble High Court, Islamabad dated 23/12/2022 regarding the subject matter. Local Government Election in ICT scheduled to be held on 31/12/2022 is hereby postponed for the time being— Spokesperson ECP (@SpokespersonECP) December 27, 2022
During the hearing, former attorney general, Ashtar Ausaf, who is representing the central government, told the bench the number of union councils was increased based on the increase in population.
At this, Sikander Sultan Raja, chief election commissioner (CEC), asked whether the census report had been published. Ausaf said the census bureau had informed about the increase in the capital’s population, adding the commission must look at the increase in population.
“The Islamabad High Court (IHC) also recognised the increase in population but authorised the Election Commission to take the final decision after listening to the government’s point of view,” Ausaf told the bench.
“In the past, even after the schedule was released, elections were postponed. The Election Commission has to decide according to the constitution and the law,” said Ausaf, adding the ECP cannot deprive citizens of their fundamental rights.
The lawyer also said the National Assembly has approved the legislation increasing the number of union councils and observed that the tribunal must conduct delimitation in light of the new law.
It merits a mention here that local elections in the capital city were long overdue. The vote should have been held within four months after the expiry of the previous administration’s tenure in February 2021, but the then-government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) did not follow the procedure.
