1,000 nomination forms issued for elections on first day

At least a thousand nomination forms were issued to different political parties and independent candidates by retuning officers and the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Karachi on Monday, when the exercise was officially launched for the 2018 general elections.

The forms for general seats can be obtained by designated returning officers, which are additional district & sessions judges for the National Assembly and senior civil judges for the Sindh Assembly, in each district. Forms for the reserved seats are being issued by the ECP office. A person with a CNIC can obtain up to five forms, each of which cost Rs100.

Provincial election commissioner Yousaf Khattak said the forms can be obtained until June 8, adding that they are available in both English and Urdu languages.

Afterwards, the nominations will be subjected to scrutiny until June 14, and the appeals over their acceptance and rejection can be filed until June 19. The aspirants can move the appellate tribunal until June 26. The deadline for withdrawal of nomination is June 28, as the final list of candidates will be issued on June 29.

Khattak said that each aspirant needs to submit an affidavit under articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution in which they should provide details about their dual nationality, utility bills’ defaults and criminal cases, if any. He said that unlike 2013, when these details were to be put down in the form, all of them have been sought in the affidavit this time round.

He said the aspirants should provide details about their assets, dependants, family, companies, profession and transferable assets in the form, adding that for the first time the aspirants have been asked to provide their contact numbers and email addresses. However, said the election commissioner, this time details of income and agriculture taxes of the past three years, foreign tours, education and funding from party have not been sought.

Pakistan Peoples Party

The nomination form for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was obtained by his lawyers from the District South returning officer.

The younger Zardari is likely to contest the elections from two constituencies: NA-200 (Larkana-I) and NA-246 (South-I/Lyari).

PPP leader Nabeel Gabol’s son Nadir Gabol is likely to contest the polls from PS-108 (South-II/Lyari) while the party’s lawyers forum member Qadir Khan Mandokhel has obtained two forms to contest from NA-248 (West-I/Keamari and Manora) and PS-113 (West-II/Keamari and Manora).  

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Faisal Vawda is likely to contest the elections from NA-249 (West-II/Baldia Town). Similarly, the party’s Aftab Jahangir has obtained forms for NA-252 (West-V/Manghopir) and PS-111 (South-V/Clifton and Civil Lines), Abdul Razzaq Bajwa for NA-246 and PS-106 (East-VIII/Jamshed Quarters) and Saifur Rehman Mehsud for NA-242 (East-I/Gulzar-e-Hijri).

Jamaat-e-Islami

Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman is likely to contest from NA-247 (South-II/Saddar). The party’s Syed Abdur Rasheed will be contesting against Bilawal in NA-246, while Haroon Sarfaraz has obtained a form for NA-241 (Korangi-III) and Muhammad Khan Awan for PS-96 (Korangi-IV).

Pak Sarzameen Party

The Pak Sarzameen Party’s Muzammil Qureshi and Syed Hafeezuddin were among the first candidates to file their nominations on the first day. They submitted their papers to contest the polls from NA-243 (East-II/Gulshan-e-Iqbal) and NA-250 (West-III/SITE) respectively.

MQM-Pakistan

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan Bahadurabad faction’s Faisal Subzwari, Mehfooz Yar Khan and Kanwar Naveed Jamil also obtained nomination forms for the national and provincial assembly seats.

According to reports, the group obtained at least 55 nomination forms to field their candidates. The News made several attempts to contact the party’s spokesperson Aminul Haque, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, aspirants from the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan and other political and religious parties as well as at least 250 independent candidates also obtained forms.