Filing of nominations begins in merged districts

ECP issues code of conduct for election on 16 seats of K-P assembly

PESHAWAR: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday started receiving nomination papers for the 16 general seats, four seats of women and a single seat for minority.

Election for the provincial assembly seats in the newly merged districts of the tribal areas will be held as per schedule on July 2, said an ECP notification.

The election commission has announced through the notification that the nomination papers for the said seats would be accepted till May 11, while polling in the seven merged districts to be held on July 2.

The notification further stated that the submission process to be open from today will continue till May 11, while the scrutiny of the lists of candidates would be held on May 18. ECP will hear objections on nominations and release final list of candidates on May 28. Candidates can withdraw nomination papers by May on 29, while polling will be held on July 2.

The election commission has also asked the political parties to submit their priority lists of the candidate’s names for a minority seat and four other for women in the merged district of seven districts until May 11.

While commenting on the women and minority names for the seven districts, ECP said it has made it mandatory for the political parties that the minority and women candidates should be from merged districts and their address should be of the same area.

The election commission has announced to establish 497 polling stations in the seven districts for voters in which 1,000 would be mixed polling stations, while the rest would be gender based.

For presiding the election in the said areas, K-P election commission has appointed 1,943 presiding officers, 5,724 assistant presiding officers, 5,724 polling officers

These officials will be responsible to hold transparent elections in the seven districts. Security forces and police would maintain law and order on the polling day.

Meanwhile the election commission have denied any changes of date and time of the election in the merged area and acknowledge that standing committee have approved extra constituencies in the merged districts, but due to the lack of constitutional amendments we would carried out election on the old constituencies list.

Code of conduct

ECP has issued a code of conduct for the election in the seven newly merged districts of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Barring the women and transgender from polling their votes in the seven merged districts would be considered as crime.

A statement issued on Wednesday stated that candidates would not be allowed to print banners or posters larger than the sizes mentioned in the code of conduct for 2018 General Elections.

Candidates will also have to submit details of sources of income along with their papers for nomination.

Women and transgender votes would be as valued as the other section of the society, while barring others from casting their votes would be considered as crime in the eye of law, and those who doing this would be treated with iron hands.

The candidates are asked to have their accounts details while filing papers for the election in the said area, that they could bear the cost of the transportations, stationary, banners and others costs from his personal account, while show of power and brandishing weapons at the political gathering would be strictly prohibited.

The election commission has allowed the candidate to carry a licenced weapon however, firework or other explosives on receiving the results at polling days would also be considered as violation of the code of conduct.

ECP has banned wall-chalking, billboards and pana flex for publicity of candidate. Posters of the size of 18x23 inches, handbill of 9x6 inches, banner of 3x9 feet and portrait of 2x3 feet are allowed while exceeding the size would be a violation of the code.

The candidate would be allowed to establish a camp office 400 meters from the polling stations.

ECP code disallows President, PM, ministers, chairman senate, speakers of provincial and national assembly and nazims from promoting any candidate.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2019.