PML-N demands two more days for filing papers

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday joined its allies, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), in requesting a two-day extension beyond the December 22 deadline for filing nomination papers for the upcoming general elections.

In a letter addressed to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), PML-N Election Cell Chairman Ishaq Dar argued that extending the deadline until Sunday would accommodate the aspirations of numerous candidates aiming to participate in the elections scheduled for February 8, 2024.

It “is requested that to facilitate thousands of candidates desirous of taking part in elections, it would be appreciated if only a two-day extension is granted in filing nomination papers by amending the schedule issued on December 15, 2023, without changing the polling day, i.e., February 8, 2024,” Dar wrote.

On Wednesday, the JUI-F and the MQM-P also wrote to the ECP, seeking an extension in the date for filing nomination papers by three days. The JUI-F suggested that the voting date should remain the same and instead the ECP should cut the time period fixed for the scrutiny of the nomination papers.

According to the schedule issued by the polls supervisor, aspiring candidates are required to file nomination papers from December 20 to 22, 2023, with scrutiny dates fixed from December 24 to 30, 2023. The filing of nomination papers will end on Friday (today).

Read Candidates flock to get nominations

Simultaneously, the ECP has issued guidelines for the aspiring candidates for the submitting the nomination papers. Each candidate is allowed to file a maximum of five nomination papers, along with the fee of Rs30,000 for a National Assembly seat, and Rs20,000 for a provincial assembly contest.

Similarly, eligibility criteria have also been set by the ECP, requiring candidates to be Pakistani citizens, aged 25 or above at the time of submission. Furthermore, National Assembly candidates can hail from any part of Pakistan, whereas provincial assembly hopefuls must belong to the province concerned.

Meanwhile, obtaining and filing of nomination papers for 266 general seats and 70 reserved seats of the National Assembly and 593 general seats in all the four provincial assemblies plus 156 reserved seats continued across the country for the second consecutive day on Thursday.

Among those obtaining the papers included several party heads, who reveal their battlefields. PML-N Quaid, for whom the papers were obtained from NA-14 Mansehra, also obtained the papers for NA-130 Lahore. His daughter Maryam Nawaz also obtained the papers for a Lahore seat.

Read Political heavyweights receive nominations

Also, Lahore would witness other political heavyweights, such as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Sardar Latif Khan Khosa in NA-122 and Salman Akram Raja in NA-128, while PTI’s Dr Yasmeen Rashid submitted her nomination papers for a reserved seat for women.

On the other hands, Jamat-e-Islami’s (JI) Liaquat Baloch submitted his nomination papers for NA-123 and NA-128. The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s (IPP) leader Shoaib Siddiqi submitted his nomination papers for NA-119.

In Karachi, more than 250 nomination papers were submitted for 22 National Assembly and 47 Sindh Assembly seats in the seven districts of Karachi. The main politicians among them included MQM-P’s Aminul Haque, Rauf Siddiqui, Abdul Haseeb.

Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) President Asif Ali Zardari obtained the nomination papers for NA-207 Nawabshah-1, while his sister Dr Azra Fazal Pechohu obtained the nomination papers for a Sindh assembly seat, PS-36 Nawabshah.

Read Nomination rush kicks in election fervour

PPP Sindh President Nisar Khuhro would file his nomination papers for the two provincial assembly constituencies, PS-11 Larkana and PS-15 Meero Khan on Friday (today), according to a spokesman. Also former minister Sharjeel Memon submitted his papers for PS-61.

Another PPP leader Zahid Bhurguri submitted his nomination papers for National Assembly constituency, NA-219. PPP leaders Jam Khan Shoro and Tariq Shah Jaamot submitted their nomination papers on Wednesday.

PPP Salim Mandviwala submitted his nomination papers in Karachi on Thursday. Irfanullah Marwat of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) also filed his papers. So far, 100 nomination papers had been filed for the reserved seats in Sindh and National Assembly.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to a provincial election commission spokesman, 224 nomination papers had been filed for the reserved seats for women and 92 papers for minority seats. For the first time in the province, a transgender person, Sobia Khan, from Peshawar submitted the papers for PK-81.

(WITH INPUTs FROM OUR KARACHI CORRESPONDENT & APP)