ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja has accused the federal government of trying to sabotage the local government elections in Islamabad, and said the polls would go ahead as scheduled on December 20.
Raja made the remarks on Thursday while heading a three-member Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) bench, after he noted that the federal government had ordered that teachers would not be given duty in the Islamabad polls. “Where will the commission bring staff from?” he asked.
“The commission issues directions to the prime minister and the government; directions do not come from them to us,” he said. “The federal government wants to sabotage the Islamabad local government elections. I make it clear that local government elections will be held in Islamabad.”
The federal capital has been without elected local governments since the last term ended in February 2021. The law required the ECP to hold fresh polls within 120 days, but delimitations and election schedules have been announced and then postponed several times since. More than 3,500 candidates filed nomination papers for the December 20 polls, the ECP said earlier this week.
Raja continues as chief election commissioner under the 26th Amendment, although his five-year term ended on January 26, 2025.
Minister summoned over by-election
The same bench was hearing complaints of code-of-conduct violations in the NA-77 Gujranwala by-election. A candidate of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League had told the district returning officer that Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had visited the constituency during the campaign.
Tarar’s counsel, Sajeel Swati, told the bench the minister was on an official foreign visit with the prime minister in Turkiye, and called the allegations serious. The commission also questioned two members of the Punjab Assembly, Asma Naz of the PML-N and Qudsia Batool, over their conduct on polling day. Raja asked the Gujranwala deputy commissioner why he had no information about the minister’s visit, noting that Tarar had arrived by helicopter.
Raja said a fact-finding inquiry into the by-election had been completed and its report would be shared with all sides, warning that action would be taken against the deputy commissioner, the returning officer, and the district monitoring officer. The commission gave Tarar’s counsel 10 days and adjourned the hearing until December 1, when all members are to appear in person.
On the same day, the ECP issued an updated list of 160 registered political parties that names no head for the PTI, MQM-P, and PkMAP.
