ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday extended its deadline for filing nomination papers for the February 8 general elections by two days but asserted that the extension would not affect the poll date.

With little than over a month left for polls, the electoral watchdog has entered election mode. Last week, the commission issued the election schedule, putting an end to uncertainty surrounding the exercise.

As per the original schedule, the process to file nomination papers for national and provincial assemblies seats commenced on Dec 20. The deadline for the filing of papers was set to expire at 4:30pm today.

However, in a press release this morning, the electoral watchdog announced that nomination papers can now be filed till Dec 24 (Sunday). It said the decision was taken in response to requests from political parties and to facilitate the candidacy process.

“Political parties must submit priority lists for specific seats to returning officers within the stipulated time,” it highlighted.

Returning officers will examine the nomination papers from Dec 25 to Dec 30, as specified in the schedule. The statement underscored that “all activities as listed in the election schedule released on Dec 15 will be held as planned”.

The electoral watchdog also confirmed that the amended schedule was available on the ECP website. The statement further emphasises that the changes did not affect the poll date and that elections would be held on Feb 8.

The development comes a day after PML-N leader Ishaq Dar wrote a letter to the ECP seeking a two-day extension in the deadline to submit nomination papers.

In a letter posted on X (formerly Twitter), Dar — who is the chairman of the party’s election cell — had noted that according to the schedule issued by the ECP, candidates were required to file nomination papers from Dec 20 to Dec 22 while dates for scrutiny were fixed from Dec 24 to Dec 30.

“The commission enjoys the power to make necessary amendments in the [election] schedule without affecting/changing the polling date,” he had said.