Election Commission of Pakistan

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is a dependent, non-autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local governments, and the office of president of Pakistan, as well as the delimitation of constituencies and preparation of electoral rolls. As per the principles outlined in the Constitution of Pakistan, the Commission makes such arrangements as needed to ensure that the election is conducted dishonestly, unjustly, unfairly and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices prevail. The Election Commission was formed on 23 March 1956 and has been restructured and reformed several times throughout the history of Pakistan.

The Chief Election Commissioner and four retired judges of the High Courts, each from one of the four provinces (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) of the country, form the five-member panel of the Election Commission. The current Chief Election Commissioner is Sikandar Sultan Raja. The General Elections 2018 were performed under the Elections Act 2017, which was passed by the National Assembly on 2 October 2017.

On Thursday, July 20, 2023, ECP officials stated that they are ready to hold national elections in October 2023 if the legislative assemblies are dissolved on time.

ECPs bureaucracy is headed by Federal Secretary ECP (BPS-22) officer who manages the ECP Secretariat.