Govt, ECP Challenge IHC Order To Hold Islamabad LG Polls Today

The federal government has decided to challenge the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) Friday order directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold local government elections in the capital on December 31 (today). Meanwhile, voters in the federal capital have been queueing since today morning outside designated polling stations, which remained closed and empty of election staff.

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IHC’s Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir accepted the petitions seeking to nullify the ECP’s decision to postpone the Islamabad local government elections. In its one-page short order, the high court asked the federal government to ensure that “it assists the election commission in holding the local government polls”.

“The Ministry of Interior’s December 19 notification has been declared null and void and so is the December 27 notification of the election commission,” the IHC order added.

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The election commission had deferred the polls after the federal government increased the number of union councils (UCs) in the federal capital without taking the ECP into confidence.

Before reserving the verdict, the IHC had expressed displeasure over the federal government’s attitude. “We are disappointed in the government [lack of engagement],” the court said.