• ECP denied changes in number of Union Councils
• ECP said the election schedule has been released
• LG elections will be held in Islamabad on Dec 31

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has denied reports of changes in the electoral rolls or the number of union councils ahead of the local bodies elections in Islamabad.

According to reports, the election commission said the schedule of the Local Government (LG) elections in Islamabad has already been released and will not be subject to any changes.

Sources within the election commission said that no change can be made at any stage after the schedule is released. They further said the current election process cannot be changed and any obstruction will be illegal.

The sources further said that any amendment to the Local Government Act can be made in the future. They vowed that the LG elections will be conducted as scheduled.

The federal government is reportedly making amendments to increase the number of union councils in Islamabad to 125. The Ministry of Interior said the union council seats were sent up based on the population census in 2017 but the population of Islamabad has increased to 2.05 million within last five years.

Therefore, it has sought to increase the number of union councils to 125 based on the population at the request of Municipal Corporation Islamabad (MCI) Islamabad. It said the federal cabinet will have accent to amendment in ICT LG Act, 2015.

PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry claimed that the federal government is making changes in the number of union councils in Islamabad as it facing defeat in the municipal elections.

“In the face of a complete defeat in the municipal elections of Islamabad, the federal government is attempting to change the number of union councils,” he said in a tweet.

He said the only purpose is to create hurdles and stop the electoral process. He said the PTI has given a tough time to the government from Karachi to Islamabad which is now running away from the elections.

It must be mentioned that the much-delayed Local Government (LG) elections in Islamabad will finally be held on December 31.

The ECP has issued the final schedule and canvassing by candidates of political parties and independents are in full swing. The leaders of major political parties are running the vigorous election campaigns to garner support.

The government has increased the number of UCs from 50 to 101. Over 984,477 voters including 518,193 male and 466,284 female voters would cast their votes to elect their local representatives for the next five years.

A total of 1,773 nomination papers out of some 4,403 aspirants were accepted by the Returning Officers (ROs) for local government elections in the federal capital.

District Commissioner Gujranwala Tanveerul Hassan has been appointed as the District Monitoring Officer (DMO) to monitor the campaign. Around 14 monitoring officers are also closely monitoring the election campaign.

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