Pakistan polls: Schedule announced, nomination filing on 24 Mar

Islamabad: The process for 11 May elections for the National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies in Pakistan will begin on 24 March with the filing of nomination papers. Announcing the schedule, Pakistan’s Election Commission today said the nomination papers will be accepted for six days till 29 March. [caption id=“attachment_672265” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Poster such as this can be seen across Pakistan as the country gears up for polls. AFP[/caption] The papers will be scrutinised from 30 March to 5 April. The last date for filing appeals against decisions by Returning Officers regarding the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers will be 9 April. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be 17 April and the revised list of candidates will be published on 18 April. The Election Commission did not give the date of counting of votes. The schedule will also apply to seats reserved for women and non-Muslim candidates in the national and provincial assemblies. The four Provincial Assemblies are of the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Balochistan. The Election Commission has allotted 22 days for the campaign and polls to all the assemblies will be held on the same day‚ officials said. Afzal Khan, Additional Secretary of the Election Commission, told reporters a special scrutiny room had been set up in the poll panel. Defaulters to any government department, including the hostel for parliamentarians, will be ineligible to contest the polls, he said. The Election Commission has been connected with the National Database and Registration Authority‚ National Accountability Bureau‚ Federal Bureau of Revenue and the State Bank to scrutinise nomination papers. Earlier this week, President Asif Ali Zardari announced the date for the polls, marking the first democratic transition in Pakistan’s history. PTI