Following the court’s orders nullifying ECP’s decision to delay the local government polls in Islamabad, the election commission held a meeting in which the election commission had expressed its inability to conduct the local government elections within a day.

Sources said that the election commission decided to seek at least a week to conduct the polls as it required time for the printing and delivery of ballot papers.

The meeting was told that after the election schedule was delayed, the presiding officers had already returned to their departments and their attendance could not be ensured within a day.

It said that the delivery of polling materials to polling stations and setting up polling booths is a huge challenge.

Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court nullified the ECP’s decision and ordered to hold the local government elections in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) as scheduled on Dec 31.