Islamabad Local Government Election: 3,505 Candidates File Papers, 110 Women, Scrutiny From 11 November

The figures come from an ECP press release issued on Tuesday evening, after Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja chaired a special meeting on the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) polls at the ECP Secretariat. We read the release in Urdu on the ECP's press releases page. It also says the ECP has finished buying election material, ballot paper printing is arranged, and police plan to deploy 15,000 personnel.

3,505 candidates filed papers, including 110 women

The first stage of the election, filing of nomination papers, is complete. According to the ECP, 3,505 people filed papers with Returning Officers between 2 and 8 November 2026. Of these, 110 are women, which is about 3 per cent of the total.

The ECP's monitoring notification of 3 November lists union councils numbered from 1 to 125. On that count, the field works out to about 28 candidates per union council on average, spread over all the seats in each council. The ECP has not published a seat-by-seat breakdown, so we do not give one.

Filing had been extended once. The ECP pushed the last date to 8 November in its revised programme of 5 November, which our report on the revised Islamabad schedule explains.

Scrutiny of nomination papers starts on 11 November

Returning Officers (ROs) will examine every paper from Wednesday, 11 November, to Monday, 16 November. Sunday, 15 November, is not counted. At the end of scrutiny, each paper is either accepted or rejected.

This is the step where most disputes begin. A candidate whose paper is rejected, or who objects to a rival's paper being accepted, can appeal from 17 to 20 November. The ECP's programme then gives the Appellate Authority until 25 November to decide.

The dates are from the ECP's revised election programme notified on 5 November 2026. Our earlier piece on the nominated candidates list and scrutiny explains how to find your union council and the RO who handles it.

Election material is bought and ballot printing is arranged

The ECP says it has completed the purchase of all election material. Arrangements to print ballot papers are also complete. The release says the commission is in touch with every relevant department and is ready to hold the election.

Ballot papers can only be printed once the final list of contesting candidates is known. That list comes on 28 November, after appeals and withdrawals. So printing itself will follow that date, even though the arrangements are in place now.

Police plan 15,000 personnel, with extra staff from Punjab

Islamabad police told the meeting that 15,000 personnel will be posted to keep the peace on polling day. Extra staff will be called in from Punjab, according to the release. The ECP asked the Islamabad administration to send in its security plan and transport plan.

The Chief Commissioner of Islamabad told the commission that every Returning Officer has been told to do their work in line with the law. Work is under way on three documents:

1. The list of polling stations.
2. The transport plan for moving staff and material.
3. The security plan.

Once the polling station list is published and the two plans are finished, copies will go to the ECP. The release does not give a date for the polling station list.

Who attended and what the Chief Election Commissioner ordered

The meeting was attended by the ECP's members, the Interior Secretary, the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, the District Returning Officer, and Islamabad's senior police officers for operations and for administration and security. The Interior Secretary said the ministry will give the ECP all possible help for a peaceful poll.

The District Returning Officer for this stage is Kamran Ali Cheema, Director (Industries and Labour Welfare) in the Chief Commissioner's office. The ECP appointed him from 10 to 21 November 2026 while Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon, the regular DRO, is on leave abroad. The DRO told the commission he is personally overseeing every stage.

The Chief Election Commissioner gave three directions:

• Make security arrangements effective during the election.
• The District Monitoring Officer must enforce the code of conduct strictly. No negligence will be tolerated.
• The Regional Election Commissioner Rawalpindi and the District Election Commissioner Islamabad must cooperate fully with the administration, the DRO and the ROs, and report to the ECP at every stage.

Voters who see a code of conduct breach can use the ECP's complaint routes listed in our guide to the ECP complaint number and email.

What voters in Islamabad should do now

Polling is still about six weeks away. But three things are worth doing before then. First, confirm your vote and your block code by sending your CNIC number to 8300, explained in our guide to checking your vote on 8300. Second, find out which union council you are in. Third, watch your RO's office notice board during scrutiny, because that is where accepted and rejected papers show up first.

If you want to stand in a future poll, our guide on how to contest an election in Pakistan covers the papers and deposits for assembly seats. The rules for union councils are in separate ICT local government rules.

Common questions

How many candidates filed papers for the Islamabad local government election?

3,505 candidates, according to the ECP press release of 10 November 2026. Of them, 110 are women.

When does scrutiny of nomination papers start?

On 11 November 2026. Returning Officers check papers until 16 November. Sunday, 15 November, is excluded.

When is polling day in Islamabad?

Sunday, 20 December 2026. Polling runs from 8 am to 4 pm under the ECP's revised programme.

How many police will be deployed?

Islamabad police told the ECP that 15,000 personnel will be deployed, with additional staff called from Punjab.

Has the polling station list been published?

Not yet. The Chief Commissioner said it is being prepared, with the transport and security plans. Copies go to the ECP once ready.

Who is the District Returning Officer now?

Kamran Ali Cheema, from 10 to 21 November 2026, under an ECP notification of 6 November. Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon resumes the role on his return.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 10 November 2026, about 21:30 PKT. We read the ECP press release of 10 November 2026 on the ICT local government meeting (Urdu PDF), the revised election programme of 5 November 2026, the DRO notification of 6 November 2026 and the monitoring notification of 3 November 2026, all on the ECP website.