Local government elections in Islamabad are likely to be postponed yet again, marking a fifth consecutive delay, after the federal cabinet approved multiple amendments to the Local Government Act, 2015. The polls are currently scheduled for February 15, but the latest legal changes have cast serious doubt on that timeline.
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The cabinet approved 14 amendments to the law, including replacing the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad with a new structure of “town corporations”. Under the proposal, the capital will be divided into three town corporations, broadly aligned with the territorial limits of Islamabad’s three National Assembly constituencies.
وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف کی زیرِ صدارت وفاقی کابینہ کا اجلاس
اجلاس کے شرکاء سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے وزیراعظم نے وفاقی کابینہ کے اراکین کو نئے سال کی مبارکباد دی اور نیک خواہشات کا اظہار کیا۔ وزیراعظم نے اس امر پر اطمینان کا اظہار کیا کہ پی آئی اے کے 75 فیصد شیئرز کی نجکاری انتہائی… pic.twitter.com/zT8ZaozK4o
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) January 2, 2026
An official statement said the cabinet endorsed decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee for Legislative Cases on December 30, including confirmation of actions related to the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025. The Election Commission of Pakistan has not yet formally announced a postponement.
Political parties traded blame over the expected delay. The local chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had earlier claimed the government would avoid holding the elections, a charge rejected by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders, who argue the amendments are needed to improve service delivery.
Islamabad has been without an elected local government since February 2021, when the previous term expired. Since then, elections have repeatedly been delayed, leaving nearly 2.5 million residents without local representation for basic civic issues such as water supply, sanitation, and road maintenance.
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Over the past few years, the ECP has carried out delimitation exercises several times and issued election schedules that were later withdrawn. On one occasion, polls were cancelled just a day before voting.
Responsibility for delays has spanned multiple governments. Elections were not held within the required timeframe when PTI was in power, while subsequent administrations under the Pakistan Democratic Movement also postponed polls over changes to the number and structure of union councils.
The only local government elections in Islamabad were held in 2015–16, when the PML-N won control and Sheikh Anser Aziz became mayor. Since then, repeated legal revisions have prevented a return to elected local governance.
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