Applications for Local Council Elections to open this Saturday

Elections Commission (EC) announced that applications for the Local Council Elections and the Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections, scheduled for April 2026, will open this coming Saturday.

During a press conference at the Election Center, EC President Ahmed Zahid stated that the window for submitting candidate forms will remain open from Saturday until midnight on 1 February 2026.

While applications are to be submitted digitally through the Elections Commission portal, specific administrative hours have been set for these submissions. Forms can be submitted between 8:30 AM and 3:30 PM from Saturday to Thursday, and from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM on Fridays.

Zahid emphasized that "submissions cannot be made outside of these designated times."

The entire application process this year will be handled digitally via the Commission’s "Simadha" portal. This includes verifying endorsements for political party candidates and collecting the required support signatures for independent candidates.

Although the portal has been open for some time to allow potential candidates to upload documents and test the system, formal submission only begins this Saturday.

Zahid noted that the early access was intended to identify technical difficulties, but no significant complaints have been received so far, aside from minor clarifications requested by a few of the approximately 300 individuals currently gathering signatures for independent bids.

The drawing of lots to assign candidate numbers is expected to take place in the second week of February.