Islamabad, June 29: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday extended the polling time for the forthcoming general elections by an hour to ensure greater participation of voters in the polling process. The polling will now commence at 8am and end at 6pm instead of the usual 5pm, the Dawn reported, citing ECP, as saying in a statement.

Pakistan is slated to hold general elections on July 25.

The move comes barely days after Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) plea of extending polling hours by three hours.

According to the report, the ECP had then discarded the plea citing that "the timings were ordained by the law and there was no need for them to be extended."

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday issued the code of conduct and guidelines for media coverage regarding the 2018 General Elections in Pakistan which are due in July 2018. The commission has issued the guidelines in order to ensure that the local media provides accurate and verified information to the people regarding the elections and candidates. (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2018 05:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).