The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Thursday directed political parties to submit their consolidated financial statements by August 29th, APP reported.

The announcement follows the ECP's decision to delimit constituencies again, a process that will take close to four months.

This development suggests that the general elections, which were meant to take place within 90 days following the National Assembly's dissolution, may not take place on schedule.

The results of the 2023 digital census were approved by the CCI earlier this month, and as a result, the ECP is now required to perform a new round of delimitation, which entails redrawing constituency boundaries to ensure that each has an equal population size.

According to the ECP spokesperson, political parties are required to submit their financial statements for the fiscal year ending on June 30th no later than August 29th, 2023, in accordance with Section 210 of the Elections Act of 2017, Section 204 of the same Act, and Rules 159 and 160 of the Election Rules of 2017.

As a reminder, Section 210 of the Elections Act, 2017 mandates that a political party must submit a consolidated audited financial statement to the Commission within sixty days after the end of a fiscal year, following the prescribed manner.

This Form-D-documented statement should include details on annual income, expenses, fund sources, as well as assets and liabilities.

A certificate signed by an authorized party member, as determined by the party head, and an audit report of the political party's financial records are both required to be included in the report that must be given to the ECP.

According to the Elections Act of 2017, this certificate attests to the party's not receiving financial contributions from any forbidden sources and the veracity of the financial information in the statement.

The Elections Act of 2017 specifies that Form-D must be used to submit the financial statement.

These forms were available in printed form for no fee at the offices of the provincial election commissioners in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, as well as at the Election Commission Secretariat in Islamabad.

On the official website of the ECP, Form-D and the source of funding proforma are also accessible.

The need to prevent overwriting was underlined by the ECP directive. They also stated that Form-D should also include the most current valid renewal certificate in addition to the membership or certificate from ICAP for the engaged Auditor.

A bank reconciliation statement and clear copies of the party's bank statements from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, must also be included with Form D.

"Send your letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan Secretary at Constitution Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad," it said, adding: "In accordance with rule 156 of the Election Rules for 2017, it must be delivered by a party office bearer who has received the party head's approval."

The statement won’t be accepted if sent via post, fax, courier service, or any other method, the directive emphasized.