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Ordinance Overhauls Islamabad’s Local Government, Resetting City Elections

Fresh delimitations by the Election Commission must be completed before voting can be rescheduled.

Overview

  • President Asif Ali Zardari’s Jan. 9 ordinance abolishes the Metropolitan Corporation and creates three Town Corporations aligned to National Assembly constituencies.
  • The Election Commission of Pakistan will delimit and notify union councils under the Election Act, 2017, with no boundary changes allowed after an election schedule is announced.
  • The shake-up has derailed the pending municipal polls, leaving 4,270 earlier nominations for 1,125 wards and Rs8.54 million in non-refundable fees in limbo.
  • A transition clause keeps the existing Metropolitan Corporation operating until the government constitutes and notifies the new town corporations.
  • The federal government may appoint administrators where local bodies are not functional and must vet local tax proposals, with administrator-initiated taxes laid before the National Assembly.