Nomination papers of several political bigwigs accepted as ECP’s scrutiny ends
June 19, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Several key political leaders managed to get closer to contesting the polls while many hopefuls suffered a setback on Tuesday as returning officers (RO) across the country scrutinised their nomination papers.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) concluded the scrutiny of nomination papers on Tuesday as per the revised election schedule. The appeals against the decisions of ROs can be filed by June 22, which will then be decided by June 27.
PML-N's candidates
Among bigwigs from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), party president and former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif's nomination papers for NA-132 (Lahore), NA-249 (Karachi), NA-250 (Karachi) and NA-3 (Swat) were accepted by the RO.
Shehbaz's son Hamza Shehbaz has been allowed to contest from NA-132, NA-124 and PP-146 constituencies of Lahore.
PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz's candidacy for PP-173 has also been approved. On Monday, RO Asif Bashir had cleared the way for Maryam to contest for Lahore's NA-125 constituency as well after dismissing all objections raised during scrutiny of her nomination papers.
Ayaz Sadiq, the former speaker of the National Assembly, was also cleared to contest the polls from Lahore's NA-129 constituency.
Former minister of foreign affairs Khawaja Asif had his nomination forms accepted for NA-73 Sialkot.
Former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal has also been cleared to contest from his hometown constituency of NA-78 (Narowal) while PML-N KP leader Amir Muqam will contest the polls from for PK-4 (Swat).
Former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah's candidacy for NA-106 (Faisalabad) was also approved today after he appeared before the RO once adequate security was provided at the sessions court.
In a setback, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's nomination papers for NA-53 (Islamabad) were dismissed as he failed to fill the affidavit properly.
PML-N candidate Khawaja Tariq Nazeer had his nomination forms accepted for NA-245 Karachi.
PML-N's Chaudhry Riaz and Raja Javed Ikhlas' nomination forms were accepted for NA-58 Rawalpindi.
PPP's nominees
Prominent Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders whose nomination papers were accepted included chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who was declared fit to contest from NA-246 (Karachi).
The nomination papers of former president Asif Ali Zardari for NA-213 (Nawabshah) have also been accepted, a day after two petitioners withdrew objections against his candidature.
PPP's Aijaz Jakhrani had his nomination forms accepted for NA-196 Jacobabad.
Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's nomination papers were accepted from NA-58 Rawalpindi.
PTI hopefuls
PTI Chairman Imran Khan's nomination papers for NA-131 (Lahore) and NA-243 (Karachi) were accepted after the RO dismissed the objections against his candidacy.
However, the PTI chief suffered a setback in NA-53, Islamabad where the RO rejected his candidacy as he failed to properly fill out the affidavit to be submitted along with the nomination papers.
Additionally, the nomination papers of PTI leader Aleem Khan and his wife, Kiran Aleem, were accepted for Lahore's NA-131 and NA-129, and PP-148, respectively.
Nomination forms of PTI's Mohammad Mian Soomro were accepted from NA-196 Jacobabad. Mohammad Aslam Abro also had his nomination papers approved from the same constituency.
PTI candidate Shakoor Shad's nominations forms were accepted for NA-246 Karachi. Shad will be contesting the election against PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
PTI's Chaudhry Azeem was given a go-ahead for contesting the election from NA-58 Rawalpindi.
MQM-P, PSP, JUI-F, QWP and others
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) stalwart Farooq Sattar suffered a setback today after his nomination papers for NA-245 (Karachi) were rejected owing to inclusion of his name in two FIRs.
The nomination papers of Sattar and Nasreen Jalil were approved from NA-247 Karachi.
Meanwhile, nomination forms of social activist Jibran Nasir were also accepted, who will be contesting the election as an independent candidate from NA-247 Karachi.
Similarly, the nomination papers of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leader Arshad Vohra for NA-254 (Karachi) and NA-255 (Karachi) were also accepted. PSP's Fauzia Kasuri also had her candidacy approved for NA-247 Karachi.
Other prominent political leaders whose nomination papers were accepted included Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for NA-38 (Dera Ismail Khan), veteran politician Javed Hashmi for NA-155 (Multan), Qaumi Watan Party chairperson Aftab Sherpao for NA-23 (Charsadda).
Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan's nomination papers were accepted for NA-63 Taxila. Nisar, however, didn't appear before the returning officer to submit his nomination forms.
PTI candidate Ghulam Sarwar Khan's nomination forms were also accepted from the same constituency. Another candidate, Umar Farooq, had his nomination papers accepted for NA-63 Taxila.
Farooq had been a defaulter of Sui Northern. His nomination forms were approved after payment of dues.
Former PPP leader Zulfiqar Mirza, who recently joined the Grand Democratic Alliance, has been allowed to contest elections from PS-74 (Badin) while estranged PTI leader Ayesha Gulalai will contest the election from NA-231 (Sajawal).
Former speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani, has been allowed to contest from NA-265 while former federal minister for religious affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi will be contesting from NA-175 (Liaquatpur).
Chief of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Mahmood Khan Achakzai's nomination papers for NA-263 (Qilla Abdullah) were also accepted, along with those of former Balochistan chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri for PB-38 (Khuzdar).
Meanwhile, former president Pervez Musharraf's nomination papers for NA-1 (Chitral) were dismissed by the RO.
The nomination papers of former Jamaat-e-Islami Sindh chief Asadullah Bhutto were also rejected for NA-242 (Karachi) as his name is reportedly on a bank defaulters’ list.
Speaking to the media, Bhutto shared that he will challenge his dismissal. “I am not a defaulter. The bank has made some mistake,” he remarked.
Already in the race
During scrutiny of nomination papers across the country on Tuesday, the nomination papers of PML-N's Abid Sher Ali, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Shehla Raza and MQM’s Rauf Siddiqui and Kamran Tessori were also accepted.
Ali, the former state minister for power, is contesting from Faisalabad’s NA-108 constituency while Raza, the former deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly, is contesting from Karachi’s NA-243 constituency.
MQM's Khawaja Izharul Hassan and PSP's Hassan Saabir will also be contesting for NA-243.
Similarly, in Khairpur, the nomination papers of PPP's Nafisa Shah (NA-280) and former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah (PS-26) have been accepted by the RO.
Moreover, former NA speaker Dr Fahmida Mirza’s nomination papers were accepted from NA-230 in Badin as were those of PPP’s Rasool Bux Chandio.
Last day of scrutiny
The ECP concluded the scrutiny of nomination papers filed by the candidates for the upcoming general election on Tuesday.
The general election is scheduled to be held on July 25.
A total of 21,482 nomination papers have been filed across the country for national and provincial assemblies, according to the electoral body.
At least 6,063 candidates will contest for the 342 seats of the National Assembly, while 15,419 hopefuls have filed nomination papers for the seats of the provincial assemblies.
The election schedule states that appeals against rejection or acceptance of nomination papers can be filed by June 22. The decision on the appeals will be made by June 27, after which the final list of the candidates will be shared on June 28.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be June 29.
Moreover, the date for allocation of electoral symbols and publication of the final list of contesting candidates will be June 30.
— This story does not reflect all candidates but highlights only major politicians whose nomination papers were accepted.
