ECP warns MQM-P it could lose its election symbol after missing intra-party polls deadline
The Election Commission of Pakistan has issued a show-cause notice to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan for failing to hold mandatory intra-party elections by the extended deadline of 15 October, warning that the party could be deprived of its electoral symbol.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a show-cause notice to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for failing to hold its mandatory intra-party elections, warning that the party could lose its eligibility to obtain an electoral symbol if it does not comply.
The notice, issued on 26 October and emerging publicly on Tuesday, says MQM-P failed to conduct its internal elections within an extended deadline of 15 October 2026. The commission has given the party 14 days to respond, warning that further action will follow under the law if it does not submit a satisfactory reply.
At the heart of the notice is a legal requirement that applies to every registered political party in Pakistan. Under the Elections Act 2017, parties must regularly elect their office-bearers through intra-party elections and then submit an election certificate to the commission within seven days of completing the process. The ECP says MQM-P did neither within the prescribed period.
The stakes are spelled out in the notice itself. If a party does not hold intra-party elections, the commission says, it can be rendered ineligible to obtain an electoral symbol — the recognisable mark printed next to a party’s candidates on the ballot paper. For voters, the symbol is often the quickest way to identify a party, particularly in constituencies where literacy is low, so losing it would be a serious practical blow in any future election.
The background to the notice stretches back several years. The commission’s Director General for Political Finance, Masood Sherwani, told the bench that MQM-P last conducted intra-party elections on 16 October 2021, while under its own party constitution fresh elections were required by 16 October 2025. That means the party has gone years without a fresh internal mandate for its leadership, according to the commission’s record.
MQM-P had sought more time, but the commission was not sympathetic. On 7 April, the ECP rejected the party’s request for a two-month extension to hold its intra-party elections, with the Chief Election Commissioner questioning the grounds for the delay and warning of serious consequences for non-compliance. The extended deadline of 15 October was set despite that warning — and, according to the notice, it too passed without elections being held.
The notice does not, on its own, strip MQM-P of its symbol. It is a formal demand for an explanation, and the party now has the opportunity to respond within the 14-day window, to explain why the elections were not held, or to show that it has since scheduled them. What the commission does next will depend on that response: it could accept an explanation, set a fresh deadline, or move to further legal action, including action on the symbol question.
No response from MQM-P was carried in the reports reviewed for this post, and it is not yet clear publicly whether the party has scheduled internal elections or intends to challenge the notice. The party, historically rooted in Karachi and Sindh’s urban centres, will be watched closely in the coming days for its reply, since its leadership structure and its ability to contest under its own symbol both turn on it.
The case is also a reminder of how seriously the ECP treats intra-party democracy. The requirement is designed to stop parties becoming personal fiefdoms run indefinitely by the same leadership without a vote of their own members, and the commission has shown in the past that it is willing to act on the symbol question when it believes the law has been ignored. Whether MQM-P’s case ends with a fresh round of internal elections or with a harder penalty will become clear once its response lands and the commission decides what to do with it.
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