ISLAMABAD: The submission of nomination papers for local government election is underway.
According to details, The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has officially set the electoral process in motion as nomination papers submission starts for Islamabad local government elections 2026, allowing prospective candidates to submit their nomination forms from today until November 6.
According to the election schedule released for the upcoming local body polls in the federal capital, voting will take place on December 20.
The scrutiny of the submitted papers will be conducted between November 9 and November 13, while appeals against rejected nominations can be filed from November 14 to November 18.
The Appellate Authority will decide on these appeals between November 19 and November 23, with candidates given until November 25 to withdraw their candidacy.
Final electoral symbols will be allotted on November 26.
To manage administrative operations, the ECP has appointed Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon as the District Returning Officer (DRO).
Additionally, 16 Returning Officers (ROs) and 32 Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) drawn from the Islamabad administration and the education department have been deployed.
Following the polling on December 20, official electoral results will be compiled between December 21 and December 24, as nomination papers submission starts for Islamabad local government elections 2026 across the federal capital.
Local Government Elections in Islamabad 2015
The 2015 Local Government Elections in Islamabad represented a historic milestone in the democratic governance of Pakistan’s federal capital, as it was the very first time local body elections were conducted under a dedicated legal framework—the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015.
Prior to this election, the capital was governed without a elected municipal council, leaving local civic matters solely under the administration of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Islamabad District Administration.
Held on November 30, 2015, the elections established 50 Union Councils across the urban and rural sectors of Islamabad.
Over 676,000 registered voters cast their ballots to elect 50 UC Chairmen along with general, women, worker, youth, and minority councilors.
The election was heavily contested primarily between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The PML-N emerged victorious, securing a majority in the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) after several independent candidates joined its ranks.
This led to the election of Sheikh Ansar Aziz as Islamabad’s first-ever Mayor in early 2016.
The 2015 polls established a vital decentralized administrative tier, bridging local civic issues directly with elected public representatives until the tenure of the local government completed in February 2021.
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As nomination papers submission starts for Islamabad local government elections 2026, memories of the landmark 2015 electoral foundation remain a significant reference point for local democracy in the capital.
