The path has been cleared to postpone local government elections in the federal capital after the federal cabinet approved an ordinance amending Islamabad’s local government (LG) law, sources said on Friday.

According to officials, the cabinet has formally approved the Islamabad Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, and a summary has been sent to President Asif Ali Zardari for assent. The ordinance will be promulgated after the president’s signature.

Under the proposed amendments, Islamabad’s local government structure will be aligned with the Punjab model.

The capital will be divided into three town corporations corresponding to its three National Assembly constituencies.

Each town corporation will have a mayor and two deputy mayors. The ordinance also proposes transferring certain powers of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to elected local governments to strengthen municipal governance.

Earlier, the federal cabinet had approved the postponement of the scheduled local government elections in Islamabad.

The decision was taken during a brief meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which also ratified decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases on December 3 and December 30.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced February 15 as the polling date for Islamabad’s local government elections, with results to be compiled between February 16 and 19.

However, officials said the polls have been deferred due to the new legislation and proposed amendments to the local government framework.