President approves ICT Local Govt (Amend) Bill: ECP to delimit UCs into nine wards for election of members on general seats

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has assented to the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2024.

The purpose of the bill was to amend the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015.

According to an announcement from the President House on Thursday, President Zardari approved the bill under Article 75 of the Constitution. The National Assembly passed the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2024 amid the opposition's protest on August 26 while the Senate had passed the bill on August 27.

According to an amendment to Section 7 of Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2024, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) shall delimit union councils into nine wards for the election of members on the general seats. Previously, there were six wards in a union council.

According to substitution of Section 15, all nine general members of each union council shall be directly elected by the voters registered in the corresponding union council.

According to an amendment to Section 17, the words, the expression 'the Representation of People Act, 1976 will be substituted with the Elections Act, 2017.

According to substitution of Section 11, there will be chairman and vice chairman of a union council as joint candidates, nine general members, one woman, one peasant or worker or business or technocrat, one youth member and one non-Muslim.