Reporter Name 
The Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, has been issued with provision that even if registered political parties form an electoral alliance, candidates must contest the polls with their own party symbols.
The Law Ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Monday and the update was confirmed on Tuesday morning.
On October 23, the Advisory Council approved the draft amendment of the RPO.
Previously, under the old provision, candidates from registered political alliances were allowed to contest using any of the coalition partners’ symbols. Smaller parties within alliances could use the symbol of a larger partner party, and some candidates had even won elections under those arrangements.
The amended ordinance specifies that if two or more registered political parties agree to jointly nominate a candidate, the Election Commission may allocate the symbol reserved for the candidate’s own political party based on his or her party affiliation.
