Islamabad January 1 2023: President Dr. Arif Alvi has returned the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2022 without signature under clause B one of Article 75 of the Constitution.
In a tweet from President of Pakistan Arif Alvi’s Twitter handle, it is said that the bill was returned saying that it would further delay the local elections. As a result of the hasty measures taken by the federal government, the electoral process was delayed twice, which is not positive for democracy.
It was further stated, “elections could not be held in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) due to the following malafide actions of Federal Government.
- After completion of delimitation of 50 Union Councils, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced elections of Local Government in ICT on 31st July 2022. Despite announcement of polling date, Federal Government increased number of Union Councils from 50 to 101.
- After demarcation of 101 Union Councils, ECP decided to hold elections in ICT on 31st December 2022. Section 2 of current Bill provides for 125 Union Councils in the ICT. Therefore, elections scheduled for 31st December 2022 have been again postponed.
- As per Section 3 of current Bill, mode of elections of Mayor and Deputy Mayor has been changed after announcement of schedule of elections”.
Source:
The President of Pakistan
