ECP orders MQM-P to hold intra-party elections by October 15

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday directed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to complete its intra-party elections by October 15, according to a statement issued by the commission.

The order was issued by a three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja during proceedings related to the party’s internal polls.

During the hearing, Barrister Farogh Naseem appeared on behalf of MQM-P and requested a 90-day extension. He told the commission that the party was preparing electoral lists and that the process was in its final phase.

The commission was also briefed by ECP Director General Political Finance Masood Sherwani, who outlined the timeline of the case and the party’s previous commitments regarding the elections. He briefed that the party was supposed to hold elections on January 16. However, the date was then extended to March 16, and now they have asked for time till December.

Sherwani further told the bench that MQM-P had last conducted intra-party elections on October 16, 2021. He said that under the party’s legal framework, the next election should have been held on Oct 16, 2025.

He added that the ECP had directed MQM-P to hold the election by January 16, 2026. However, the party later passed a resolution allowing an extension in the tenure of its current office-bearers by one year.

According to Sherwani, the party stated in that resolution that the elections would be held before March 16, 2026.

The latest direction came after earlier proceedings in the matter. In the previous hearing on April 7, the ECP had rejected MQM-P’s request seeking two months for party chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui to appear before the commission after he had been summoned.

At that hearing, Sherwani and a representative of MQM-P had appeared before the commission.

The case has centred on the schedule for MQM-P’s intra-party elections and the party’s requests for additional time. In the latest hearing, the commission granted time until October 15 instead of the longer extension sought by the party’s counsel.

The ECP statement said the party had been directed to hold the elections by that date, setting a fresh deadline in the matter.