National Assembly
The National Assembly passed the Islamabad Local Government Amendment Bill, 2024, on Monday by a majority vote, despite opposition from various parties.
The bill was presented by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar during a session presided over by NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
This amendment introduces significant changes to the Islamabad Local Government Elections Act by increasing the number of elected representatives at the Union Council (UC) level.
Previously, the UC level only included the positions of chairman and vice chairman. Under the new bill, an additional 13 representatives will be elected, expanding the local governance structure.
The revised bill stipulates that, in addition to the chairman and vice chairman, there will be nine additional UC members elected.
Moreover, it proposes the election of one representative each from four specific categories: farmer/labourer, minority, youth, and woman.
This results in a total of 15 representatives being elected at the UC level. The intention behind these changes is to enhance grassroots representation and ensure a more effective transfer of powers to local officials who will be in direct contact with the residents.
The bill also outlines the electoral process for these positions. General seat candidates will be elected directly, while candidates for general council positions will be elected through a secret ballot.
Following the completion of the electoral process, the UC secretary will convene a meeting to elect the chairman and vice chairman, with the secretary overseeing this election process.
The amendment addresses the need to update the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Local Government Act, 2015, which was originally established to create an elected local government system.
The term of the previous local government expired on February 14, 2021, and the Federal Government, along with the Election Commission, is required to conduct elections within 120 days as per Section 219 (4) of the Elections Act, 2017.
To facilitate the upcoming local government elections in Islamabad, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) requested changes to the number of reserved seats for the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and an amendment in Section-17 of the ICT Local Government Act, 2015.
This amendment replaces the old “Representation of the People Act, 1976” with the more recent “Elections Act, 2017” to align with current electoral standards and requirements.
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