PTI, BAP submit lists of candidates for 2 women reserved seats

PESHAWAR: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) have submitted priority lists of candidates for two seats reserved for women in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has already allocated one seat each for the two parties.

The PTI submitted the list having three candidates for one seat. They are Ayesha Bibi from Mohmand, Wafa Wazir from North Waziristan and Mehreen Rauf Afridi from Khyber district.

As per the law, the first candidate in the priority list is to be considered for the seat. The PTI’s Ayesha Bibi being the first candidate in the party’s priority list is likely to be elected the MPA on the remaining one vacant seat reserved for women in the KP Assembly.

On the basis of its strength in the provincial assembly, the PTI was assured of three of the five reserved seats, including two women and one minority allocated for the merged tribal districts in the KP Assembly.

The Election Commission of Pakistan’s has already notified Anita Mahsud of the PTI as MPA from the merged tribal districts on women reserved seat. She lives in Islamabad, but her vote is registered in her native South Waziristan district.

The BAP, a surprise new entrant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa politics, bagged one seat reserved for women in the KP Assembly after three independently elected MPAs from the merged districts joined the party.

The ECP had announced that one seat reserved for women would go to the BAP. As the BAP didn’t contest election for general seats, no priority list of candidates was prepared by it for seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.

The BAP subsequently submitted a priority list of two candidates for one woman reserved seat, carrying the signature of party president Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, who is also chief minister of Balochistan, with the Returning Officer (Provincial Election Commissioner).

The two candidates include Baseerat Khan, daughter of Nowshad Ali from Khyber district and Shazia, wife of Muhammad Imran. However, Baseerat Khan being on top of the priority is expected to be elected MPA.

Returning Officer Pir Maqbool Ahmad had issued a list of 13 women candidates for the two vacant seats reserved for women in the provincial assembly.

The other women candidates are Gul Shah Rukh from Khyber district, Bushra Mehsud from Dera Ismail Khan/South Waziristan, Tabassum from Malakand, Saloor Bibi from South Waziristan, Baseerat Naz from Bajaur, Saeeda Sultan from Mohmand, Falak Naz from Khyber, Hamida Shahid from Peshawar, and Maleeha Aziz from South Waziristan.

The ECP had also notified Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F’s) Naeema Kishwar Khan from South Waziristan as an elected MPA on one women reserved seat. She had served as MPA when the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) was in power in the KP. She was later elected as an MNA on a reserved seat. She lives in Takht Bhai, Mardan district, and was judged as one of the most active parliamentarians.

The ECP has issued the election schedule for the two vacant women reserved seats in KP Assembly.

The ECP notification said in pursuance of Article 224 (6) of the Constitution, read with sub-section 4 of section 104 of the Elections Act, 2017 and all other powers, enabling it in that behalf, the ECP hereby notified the election schedule to fill two vacant reserved seats for women in the provincial assembly of KP due to exhaustion of the list of candidates for reserved seats for women earlier provided by the PTI and no submission of list of candidates by BAP.

The Returning Officer had issued a public notice on August 21 asking the candidates to submit nomination papers with him from August 23-26.

September 6 is the last date of appeals against decisions of Returning Officer regarding acceptance and rejection of the nomination papers and September 10 is the last date for the Appellate Tribunal to decide the appeals.

The revised list of candidates would be published on September 11.

September 12 has been fixed for withdrawal and publication of the revised list of candidates. The list of contesting candidates would be issued on September 13.