ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the schedule of local government elections in Islamabad due to absence of relevant law and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issue a new schedule for the polls.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja issued its directives while hearing a case pertaining to local bodies polls in Islamabad.
The first-ever local bodies elections in the Federal Capital are scheduled to be held on July 25 for which a total of 4,190 candidates have filed nomination papers.
It is worth mentioning that the National Assembly has passed the bill for conduct of local government elections in Islamabad. However, the bill has yet to be passed by the Senate.
On Monday, the Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani declared local body elections in Islamabad as unconstitutional, saying the election activities in presence of the existing law are contradicting the constitution.
Rabbani said that legislation phases are still pending regarding the local body elections rule in Islamabad. He said that holding local body elections without legislation is unconstitutional.
