The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has barred those political parties who failed to submit their financial records on time from contesting future elections, an official notice from the election body said on Wednesday.

"Political parties that did not submit their financial records before the final submission date [August 29] will not be allowed to contest any future elections, neither will they be assigned election symbols," the notice read.

When contacted, ECP spokesperson Haroon Shinwari explained that the ban will stay until the time the parties submit their assets' details.

"If a party submits the financial details at a later stage, it will become eligible to contest election," said Shinwari.

Out of 345 political parties registered with the ECP, only 31 submitted their financial records before the final date.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), PML-Zia, PML-Junejo and Pakhutunkhwa Mili Awami Party are among the parties that failed to submit their records.

According to Article 14 of the Political Parties Order 2002, a party which does not submit its bank statements under Article 13 will not be eligible for obtaining an election symbol to contest elections for parliament and the provincial assemblies.

An ECP official had earlier told Dawn that the commission had reminded all political parties to submit a consolidated statement of its bank accounts on Form-1 duly audited by a chartered accountant within 60 days of the close of each financial year.