ECP and Govt plan to challenge IHC’s order to hold LG polls in capital today.

The decisions of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to hold local government elections in the federal capital today are being appealed by the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) (December 31).

The IHC ordered the electoral body to hold the elections in accordance with the timetable on Friday after admitting the petitions submitted by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) seeking to overturn the ECP’s decision to postpone the LG elections.

After a change in the union councils of the capital territory, the ECP suspended the December 31 timetable to hold the local government elections in the federal capital on December 27. However, in its one-page short ruling, the high court urged the federal government to make sure “it aids the electoral commission in holding elections for.The order also stated that the election commission’s December 27 notification and the December 19 letter from the Ministry of Interior had both been declared invalid.

After the federal government raised the number of union councils (UCs) in the nation’s capital without consulting the latter, the electoral commission postponed the voting. The court had voiced its disapproval with the federal government’s stance before reserving the ruling. The court expressed its disappointment with the government’s lack of involvement.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered local elections to be held in Islamabad on December 31. The federal government chose to contest the IHC’s decision (today).

The ECP will appeal the ruling internally, according to Munawar Iqbal Duggal, the additional attorney general, who confirmed the move.

After the IHC ordered the ECP to hold local government elections in the capital city on December 31 (today) and overturned the ECP’s order dated December 27 on the delay of the polls, the ECP called an emergency meeting.

According to the sources, the election commission stated during the meeting that it was unable to hold the local government elections within a day. The electoral commission will face significant difficulties with the deployment of polling and security personnel, it continues.

More than 14,000 poll workers, according to sources, were teachers and staffers from other departments who were on winter break, making it challenging for the ECP to administer the election. It is quite difficult to deliver polling materials to the polling place and set up the polling booths.