The Election Commission has drawn a line in the sand: the 13th national parliamentary elections will be held before the onset of Ramadan in February 2026, with no room for diversion or delay.
Announcing a 24-point roadmap on Thursday, Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed stressed that the Commission’s singular mission is to deliver the polls on time.
“The chief adviser’s directive is clear—hold the election before Ramadan,” Ahmed told reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban. “There is no scope to think about anything else. Beyond the national election, nothing is on our agenda.”
Clear timeline
The Commission confirmed that the formal election schedule will be announced in early December, roughly two months before polling day. Ramadan is expected to begin on February 17 or 18, depending on the sighting of the moon, making the first half of February the likely window for the ballot.
Roadmap to the ballot
The EC’s 24-point action plan sets out the path to February. It includes constituency delimitation by September, voter list finalization by November, party and observer registration, amendments to electoral laws, and preparations for postal ballots for expatriates and prisoners. Parallel arrangements are being made for polling staff recruitment, logistics, and security coordination.
Stakeholder dialogues with political parties and civil society will begin in late September, continuing for six weeks. Legal reforms—including revisions to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and other election-related laws—are now before the law ministry and expected to be finalized by September 30.
Dialogue and voter list
The roadmap goes into implementation with stakeholder dialogues, slated to begin in the last week of September and to be run for six weeks. Additionally, the Commission will finalize the voter list: the supplementary draft rolls already published will be closed on August 31, with another update by October 31, before the final roll is released on November 30.
Electoral law reform
Legal groundwork is also underway. Amendments to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) and related electoral laws are expected to be submitted by August 31. Other reforms—covering constituency demarcation, voter roll legislation, polling station regulations, observer accreditation, and journalist guidelines—are now pending with the law ministry and are expected to be finalized by September 30.
Party registration and boundaries
The registration of political parties will begin in mid-September, with final notification before the month’s end. At the same time, delimitation of constituencies is to be completed by early September, with the Gazette published and GIS-based electoral maps prepared and released by September 30.
Postal voting and ballots
The EC’s roadmap also lays out plans for postal ballots. Approval of projects, software finalization, and mobile app development for registration and tracking are scheduled for October. Ballots for expatriates will be dispatched in November, while ballots for prisoners will be sent two weeks before polling day.
Security and logistics
On the security front, law-and-order meetings will be held in September, again 15 days before the schedule announcement, and continue afterward. The Commission also outlined preparations for the recruitment and training of polling staff, procurement of materials, introduction of transparent ballot boxes, and allocation of the election budget. Digital monitoring, equipment upgrades, and provisions for preliminary results dissemination are also on the agenda.