Local government elections in the federal capital are once again likely to be postponed as the federal cabinet has approved wide ranging amendments to the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015. The polls were scheduled for February 15 but the latest legal changes have created significant procedural hurdles, making timely elections highly unlikely. The Election Commission of Pakistan has not yet issued a formal postponement notification.
The cabinet approved 14 amendments to the existing law, including a major structural change that replaces the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad with a new town based system. Under the revised framework, Islamabad will be divided into three town corporations, each broadly aligned with the territorial limits of a National Assembly constituency. Islamabad currently has three NA seats, and the new setup is expected to reshape local governance across the capital.
An official statement said the cabinet endorsed decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee for Legislative Cases on December 30 2025. These decisions include confirmation of actions under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Amendment Ordinance 2025. The timing of these amendments has raised concerns about the feasibility of holding elections as scheduled.
Political parties have traded blame over the repeated delays. Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf had earlier warned that elections would not be held in February, while Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz rejected the claim and argued that legal changes were necessary to improve service delivery. The term of the last local government ended in February 2021, leaving Islamabad without elected local representatives for nearly five years.
During this period, the Election Commission conducted multiple delimitations and issued several election schedules, many of which were later withdrawn. Elections were once even cancelled a day before polling. Successive governments including PTI and later the PDM alliance failed to ensure timely local polls.
The prolonged vacuum has affected nearly 2.5 million residents of Islamabad, contributing to unresolved civic issues such as water shortages, poor road conditions and weak municipal oversight. The first and only local government elections in the capital were held in 2015 16, when PMLN won and Sheikh Anser Aziz was elected mayor under a system of 50 union councils.
