The Islamabad High Court (IHC)
on Friday nullified the Election Commission
of Pakistan (ECP) notice — which had nullified a government notification to
increase the number of union councils in Islamabad — and directed the poll body to
The ECP will decide on December 27 whether or not the
Islamabad
The Islamabad High Court directed the ECP that
it should listen to all parties including the government
on December 27 and decide whether the local body elections in Islamabad
regarding local government elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
the court could not pass directives to the ECP (about holding the polls) as
it was an independent constitutional institution and regulatory body.
IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq heard identical petitions on the LG polls,
the increase in the number of union councils and changes in the voters’ list.
Attorney General of Pakistan
Ashtar Ausaf, Additional
Attorney General Munawar Dougal, Advocate General Jahangir Jest of the hearing, Jahangir Jadon argued that the interior ministry
had issued a notification on December 19, regarding the increase in the number
without hearing the federation or the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation.
it was the responsibility of the ECP to conduct the delimitation.
The increase in number would reduce the size of
union councils, he said and asked whether it wouldn’t affect the local area.
The Advocate General Islamabad said that the delimitation
He asked whether the ECP had the authority to disobey the notification of the federal government. The IHC chief justice remarked that the ECP was of the view that the UCs were
On the query related to the changes in voters’ lists,
the ECP DG legal said
that the process for the change was done. A counsel for the petitioner adopted the stance that voters of Gorla UC
The ECP had stated
right to vote and if it was
The election wouldn’t be free and fair if it were conducted with a lot of mistakes, he said. The ECP’s DG said that the complainants had arrived too late
, adding that they should have come at the time of the process
The ECP chief justice remarked that any political party that come into power didn’t show interest in local body elections. Political analysts could tell the reason for it, he said.