Election Commission unveils roadmap for upcoming national polls

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday rolled out a comprehensive roadmap for the 13th parliamentary elections, aiming to hold the polls in the first half of February next year, ahead of Ramadan.

The roadmap, spanning 24 priority areas, covers dialogue with stakeholders, voter list updates, training, budget and ICT preparations, printing of election materials, awareness drives, coordination meetings, and logistical arrangements.

Stakeholder consultations are scheduled to begin in the last week of September and continue for six weeks. A draft voter list will be published on November 1, followed by the final list on November 30. Registration of political parties will conclude by September 30, while constituency delimitation will be completed and gazetted by September 15, with GIS maps due by the end of the month. Polling officials’ panels will be ready by September 30, and awareness campaigns wrapped up by November 30.

Presenting the plan at a press briefing, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the election schedule will be declared in early December, about 60 days before voting. “The chief adviser’s office has directed us to hold the polls before Ramadan. Since Ramadan is expected to begin on 17 or 18 February, you can roughly estimate the possible election date,” he noted.

He also clarified that calls for a Constituent Assembly or referendum are beyond the EC’s mandate, as the commission is tasked only with conducting parliamentary polls.

Key deadlines in the roadmap

• Proposals for amendments to election laws and rules must be submitted by August 31, with the Law Ministry finalising them by September 30. This includes changes to the Delimitation of Constituencies Act, the Voter List Act, the Election Conduct (Amendment) 2025, and other related laws.

• Printing of manuals, guidelines, and posters must be completed by September 15.

• Observer registration ends on October 22, with certificates issued by November 15. Permissions for local and international observers and journalists will also be settled by then.

• Discussions with the Ministry of Information, ICT Ministry, BTRC, and telecom operators on election-related communications will be concluded by mid-November.

• Training programmes will run from August 29 until just before polling.

• Transparent ballot boxes will be ready by November 30, while all election materials must be procured and distributed by December 31.

• The election budget will be finalised on November 15, followed by meetings with law enforcement agencies from November 16–20.

• The first law-and-order meeting is slated for September 25, with an inter-ministerial meeting on October 31.

• ICT tasks, including result publication and dissemination systems, must be completed by October 31. Rules for media result announcements and postal ballot arrangements for expatriates will be finalised by January 2026.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has confirmed that the polls will take place before Ramadan in February. The Chief Election Commissioner has also indicated that the schedule will be unveiled about two months before voting, pointing to an announcement in the first half of December.