With the country inching closer towards the general polls, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday revised various stages of the schedule for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies.
As per the revised schedule issued by the ECP, the last date for the scrutiny of the nomination papers is January 13, while the last date for filing of appeals against decisions of the returning officer is January 16, 2024.
The revised list of candidates will be published on January 20. Candidates can withdraw their papers by the 22nd of the next month while the final list of the contesting candidates will be released on January 23.
On December 15, the ECP had issued the much-awaited schedule for the general polls, set to take place on February 8, 2024, following the Supreme Court’s order.
The polling process began on December 19, when the returning officer (RO) issued a public notice, while the ECP also resumed the training for the ROs and district returning officers (DROs).
The election programme also applies to the reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and four provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.
On December 24, the ECP’s second deadline for filing nomination papers for the national and provincial assemblies’ seats concluded at 4:30pm.
Earlier, the electoral watchdog set a deadline of December 22 for filing the nomination papers, however, the date was extended to facilitate the aspiring candidates and political parties.
As per the schedule, scrutiny of the nomination papers will be carried out from December 25-30.
Appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers can be submitted until the 3rd of January and decisions on these appeals will be made by January 10.
The list of candidates would be displayed on January 11, and candidates would have the option to withdraw until January 12.
The electoral symbols will be allotted on the 13th of January, and polling for the general elections will be held on February 8.
Meanwhile, the ECP has given more time to foreign observers who want to monitor the general elections.
Now, they can submit their applications from December 31 to January 20.
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