PPP concerned over amendments in Elections Rules

Requests ECP to omit Form-68 as it suffers from ‘contradictions’

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Peoples Party has expressed serious reservations over the electoral body’s move of making amendments to the Elections Rules, 2017, published by it on September 22.

The ECP had asked all political parties for their suggestions and objections on the amendments by October 7.

In a letter addressed to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) secretary on Saturday, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bokhari requested that a column in Form-68 that requires "total election expenses under campaign finance (under section 211(2) of the Elections Act, 2017) made by a party" be omitted.

Bokhari expressed serious concerns about a condition imposed in the proposed Form-68 that requires the contesting candidates to provide the total election expenses under campaign finance (under Section 211(2) of the Elections Act, 2017) made by a party.

He also observed that sub-rule (3) of Rule 161 requires the political parties to submit details of election expenses within 60 days of the publication of the names of returned candidates in the official gazette, but Form-68 requires the contesting candidates to provide the total election expenses under campaign finance (under Section 211(2) of the Elections Act, 2017) made by a party within 10 days of the polling day (in case of returned candidate) and within 30 days (in case of all other contesting candidates) as per sections 98, 124 and 134 of the act.

Bokhari wrote that this is a contradiction and an impossibility, as the contesting candidates cannot provide the information that is not yet available from their respective parties.