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ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday announced the schedule for local government (LG) elections in the Islamabad Capital Territory.&nbsp;The tenure of the previous local government ended in February 2021, but the polls remained pending and were postponed further due to &ldquo;new legislation.&rdquo;&nbsp;In its notification, the ECP asked voters in the ICT to choose their representatives for the general seats of the union councils.&nbsp;The commission fixed December 19 for returning officers (ROs) to issue the public notice inviting nomination papers, while candidates may submit their nomination papers to the ROs from December 22 to 27.&nbsp;The list of nominated candidates will be released on December 29, while scrutiny of nomination papers will be carried out by the ROs from Dec 30 to Jan 3 next year.&nbsp;According to the ECP, polling will be held on February 15, and the consolidation of results will be completed between February 16 and 19.&nbsp;The election watchdog also instructed authorities to ensure that the LG elections are held &ldquo;honestly, fairly, and in line with the law,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;corrupt practices are prevented.&rdquo;&nbsp;It directed that all executive authorities in the federation would &ldquo;neither announce any development project nor use state resources in local government polls calculated to influence the elections in favor of a particular candidate.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;If any person in government service misuses his official position in any manner in order to influence the results of the elections, he shall be liable to be proceeded against under the law,&rdquo; the notification added.&nbsp;In addition, it prohibited the president, prime Minister, chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate, Speaker, deputy speaker of an assembly, federal minister, ministers of states, governors, chief ministers, provincial ministers and advisers to the prime minister, chief ministers and chairmen or vice chairmen from participating in an election campaign after the issuance of this program.&nbsp;&ldquo;However, members of any assembly, Senate and local government are allowed to participate in the election campaign,&rdquo; it added, on the condition that they strictly abide by the ECP&rsquo;s code of conduct.&nbsp;The commission added that polling hours will run from 8am to 4pm, and all polling operations must be conducted during official working hours.

Politics

The Election Commission of Pakistan announces Islamabad’s local government elections schedule, with polling on February 15, 2026. Authorities and top officials are barred from influencing polls.

Pakistan announces Islamabad local elections scheduled for February 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has launched Phase 5 of its inclusive National Identity Card and voter registration campaign, with a special focus on women. It will continue across 62 districts as the country observes National Voters&rsquo; Day to promote electoral participation and awareness, according to the ECP&rsquo;s website. National Voters Day&nbsp;National Voters Day is observed across the country on Dec. 7 to emphasize the importance of voting, encourage greater electoral participation, and raise awareness about the value of every citizen&#39;s vote, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. According to the ECP, the day commemorates the first general elections in Pakistan, held on December 7, 1970. On this day, voting took place in 300 constituencies of the National Assembly on the general enfranchisement of the Unicameral Parliament of Pakistan. The purpose of commemorating the day is to raise awareness among the general public of the importance of voting and the inclusion of all segments of society in the electoral process. Voter statistics&nbsp;According to the ECP&rsquo;s website as of Nov. 4, the total number of registered voters in Pakistan is 135,428,725. Of these, 62,886,227 (46%) are female voters, and 72,542,498 (54%) are male voters. The province-wise breakdown reflects a similar ratio: <table style="width: 50%; height: 100px; margin: auto; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(41, 105, 176); background-color: rgb(209, 213, 216);"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 24.9627%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Region</td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Total Voters </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Female % </td><td style="width: 24.9626%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Male % </td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.9627%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Khyber Pakhtunkhwa </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">23,079,302 </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">45.7 </td><td style="width: 24.9626%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">54.3 </td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.9627%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Islamabad </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">1,209,229 </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">47.7 </td><td style="width: 24.9626%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">52.3 </td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.9627%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Balochistan </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">5,671,089 </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">44.0 </td><td style="width: 24.9626%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">56.0</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.9627%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Punjab </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">77,086,020 </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">47.0 </td><td style="width: 24.9626%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">53.0</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 24.9627%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">Sindh </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">28,383,085 </td><td style="width: 25.0000%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">46.1 </td><td style="width: 24.9626%;" class="fr-highlighted fr-thick">53.9</td></tr></tbody></table> Speaker&rsquo;s message&nbsp;In his message on the occasion of National Voters&rsquo; Day, Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq underscored the active and meaningful participation of citizens for a strong, stable, and effective democracy, according to Radio Pakistan. He reaffirmed that Parliament remains committed to promoting democratic values and enhancing public awareness regarding the significance of voting.

The day commemorates Pakistan's first general elections, held in 1970; it emphasizes inclusive participation and democratic awareness for all citizens.

Articles tagged with "Election Commission of Pakistan"

Pakistan announces Islamabad local elections scheduled for February 2026

National Voters Day: Next phase of women-focused voter registration launched