ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will ensure the registration of all eligible women as voters in the electoral rolls before the 2018 general elections. Addressing the 10th Rural Women Annual conference on Monday, ECP Additional Secretary Dr Akhtar Nazar said that with the support of the National Database and Regulatory Authority (NADRA), the ECP would ensure that every adult woman had possession of a computerised national identity card (CNIC) in order to be registered with the commission before next year’s election. He said that the role of political parties, civil society and the media was important to educate the women about the country’s polling system. He also said that the commission would pay special focus on registration of women voters during its annual electoral rolls campaign to be initiated from November. ECP Additional Director Haroon Shinwari said that the commission would soon start its awareness campaign in 80 districts of the country during which women would be encouraged to get CNIC and register themselves as voters. He said that the ECP would particularly target the women living in rural areas of the country during the ongoing campaign. It merits mention here that the commission had also arranged an awareness camp to educate women about the voting procedure and other aspects of the election process to allow them to play an effective role in the elections.
Newspaper:
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/16/ecp-to-ensure-registration-of-all-eligible-women-voters-before-2018/
Election
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday suspended the membership of 261 legislators for not submitting their statements of assets and liabilities. According to an official of the ECP, seven senators, 71 members of the National Assembly, 84 members of the Punjab Assembly, 50 members of the Sindh Assembly, 38 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 11 members of the Balochistan Assembly had failed to submit their statements of assets. He said the ECP had through a notification informed these parliamentarians that they would cease to function as legislators with immediate effect and till such statements were submitted by them. He said that so for 905 legislators had submitted their yearly statements of assets and liabilities of their own, spouses and dependents to the ECP. Out of total, 94 senators, 268 members of the National Assembly, 285 members of the Punjab Assembly, 118 members of the Sindh Assembly, 86 members of the KP Assembly and 54 members of the Balochistan Assembly submitted their statements with a ratio of 77.09 per cent. The official said that presently there were total 1,174 parliamentarians, including 104 senators, 342 members of the National Assembly, 371 members of the Punjab Assembly, 168 members of the Sindh Assembly, 124 members of the KP Assembly and 65 members of the Balochistan Assembly. He said that still eight seats were lying vacant in the Senate and national and provincial assemblies. The official said it was a mandatory requirement under Section 42A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, and Section 25A of the Senate (Election) Act, 1975, that those parliamentarians who failed to submit statements of assets and liabilities would be suspended from respective seats of the Senate and national and provincial assemblies. Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017
ISLAMABAD – The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2017 that restored the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat declaration for electoral candidates amid demand of lawmakers for launching an impartial probe to fix responsibility for tampering with the declaration form. The bill that has amended the Elections Act, 2017 was unanimously adopted by the House amid thumping desks minutes after Law Minister Zahid Hamid introduced it on the floor of the Upper House. The National Assembly has already passed it. However, the opposition benches demanded from the government to fix the responsibility as to who was behind controversial amendment in the declaration form about Khtm-i-Nabuwwat –the finality of Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) — for election candidates in the newly-passed Elections Act, 2017. The opposition lawmakers demanded that a parliamentary committee comprising opposition parties, instead of the already formed three-member committee of the ruling party, should be formed to fix responsibility. Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani informed the House that such a demand from the opposition benches had already been made in the House Business Advisory Committee and the government had sought time to develop consensus on it. PML-Q Senator Kamal Ali Agha said that a grave crime was committed by making changes in the declaration form, using the word declaration instead of an oath, and responsibility should be fixed. He pointed out that the law minister first said that no changes had been made in the declaration form and then the government admitted that it was a clerical mistake. He demanded the formation of a judicial commission to probe the matter. Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq called for the formation of a parliamentary committee comprising opposition members. The law minister again clarified that the impression was wrong that it was the mistake of the government. He reiterated that he had firm belief in Khtm-i-Nabuwwat. He said that there was more room to improve the law in this regard. The change in the language of the candidates’ declaration form through Elections Act, 2017 had enraged religious and political parties who had threatened to launch an agitation, which they claimed had been made intentionally. Sensing the situation, the government had agreed to amend the bill and restore the declaration form through its original form. PML-N chief and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif last Saturday constituted a three-member committee of the ruling party to fix responsibility for the controversial amendment. The committee is headed by PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and comprised of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan, who is also the climate change minister. This news was published in The Nation newspaper. Read complete newspaper of 11-Oct-2017
Newspaper: The Nation
Newspaper Link: https://nation.com.pk/11-Oct-2017/senate-passes-bill-on-khatm-i-nabuwwat-declaration
Election Commission of Pakistan has decided to cancel the registration of hundreds of inactive political parties. According to reports, the ECP has decided to delist non-serious political parties. ECP will order to 352 political parties to fulfill essential formalities, upon failure their registration will be cancelled. ECP will order such parties to deposit Rs 200,000 enlistment fee with the list of 2000 photocopies of the CNICs of their workers. A notice in this regard will be issued to such parties to furnish details among other things party constitution, accounts, intraparty elections within a grace period of 30 days. The parties which will not provide such details will be issued a show-cause notice failing which the party will be delisted. Sources say that more than 325 political parties were never part of the parliament. Out of 352 parties 300 are inactive and are not fulfilling the TORs of Election Act. By cancelling the registration of inactive political parties, the process will be a load-shedding on the ECP and will make the issuance of election symbols easier.
Newspaper: Pakistan-Today
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/10/ecp-decides-to-delist-inactive-political-parties/
ISLAMABAD – The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2017 that restored the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat declaration for electoral candidates amid demand of lawmakers for launching an impartial probe to fix responsibility for tampering with the declaration form. The bill that has amended the Elections Act, 2017 was unanimously adopted by the House amid thumping desks minutes after Law Minister Zahid Hamid introduced it on the floor of the Upper House. The National Assembly has already passed it. However, the opposition benches demanded from the government to fix the responsibility as to who was behind controversial amendment in the declaration form about Khtm-i-Nabuwwat –the finality of Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) — for election candidates in the newly-passed Elections Act, 2017. The opposition lawmakers demanded that a parliamentary committee comprising opposition parties, instead of the already formed three-member committee of the ruling party, should be formed to fix responsibility. Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani informed the House that such a demand from the opposition benches had already been made in the House Business Advisory Committee and the government had sought time to develop consensus on it. PML-Q Senator Kamal Ali Agha said that a grave crime was committed by making changes in the declaration form, using the word declaration instead of an oath, and responsibility should be fixed. He pointed out that the law minister first said that no changes had been made in the declaration form and then the government admitted that it was a clerical mistake. He demanded the formation of a judicial commission to probe the matter. Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq called for the formation of a parliamentary committee comprising opposition members. The law minister again clarified that the impression was wrong that it was the mistake of the government. He reiterated that he had firm belief in Khtm-i-Nabuwwat. He said that there was more room to improve the law in this regard. The change in the language of the candidates’ declaration form through Elections Act, 2017 had enraged religious and political parties who had threatened to launch an agitation, which they claimed had been made intentionally. Sensing the situation, the government had agreed to amend the bill and restore the declaration form through its original form. PML-N chief and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif last Saturday constituted a three-member committee of the ruling party to fix responsibility for the controversial amendment. The committee is headed by PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and comprised of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan, who is also the climate change minister. This news was published in The Nation newspaper. Read complete newspaper of 11-Oct-2017
Election Commission of Pakistan has decided to cancel the registration of hundreds of inactive political parties. According to reports, the ECP has decided to delist non-serious political parties. ECP will order to 352 political parties to fulfill essential formalities, upon failure their registration will be cancelled. ECP will order such parties to deposit Rs 200,000 enlistment fee with the list of 2000 photocopies of the CNICs of their workers. A notice in this regard will be issued to such parties to furnish details among other things party constitution, accounts, intraparty elections within a grace period of 30 days. The parties which will not provide such details will be issued a show-cause notice failing which the party will be delisted. Sources say that more than 325 political parties were never part of the parliament. Out of 352 parties 300 are inactive and are not fulfilling the TORs of Election Act. By cancelling the registration of inactive political parties, the process will be a load-shedding on the ECP and will make the issuance of election symbols easier.
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted amendments to the recently passed Elections Act, 2017, restoring the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat declaration for candidates, as well as the two clauses on the status of Ahmadis, in their original form. The amendments were tabled by Law Minister Zahid Hamid a day after Speaker Ayaz Sadiq admitted that the change was due to a clerical error, and was approved unanimously. The house also restored Clauses 7-B and 7-C of the Conduct of Elections Order, 2002, which had been removed with the repeal of the entire order. These clauses pertain to the status of Ahmadis. Speaking on a point of order, PPP’s Syed Naveed Qamar said it was not appropriate to term the change in the declaration a clerical mistake. He said the matter had never been discussed before the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms and it was not fair to attribute this blunder to the committee. Former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali sought action against those responsible for the controversial amendment. PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he couldn’t understand why the declaration had been changed. MQM’s Sheikh Salahuddin alleged that this was deliberately done to appease certain ‘masters’. Sahibzada Tariqullah of Jamaat-i-Islami called for an inquiry to fix responsibility for the blunder. Clause 7B reads: “Notwithstanding anything contained in the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974 (XXI of 1974), the Electoral Rolls, Rules, 1974, or any other law for the time being in force, including the Forms prescribed for preparation of electoral rolls on joint electorate basis in pursuance of Article 7 of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 7 of 2002), the status of Quadiani Group or the Lahori Group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name) or a person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), the last of the prophets or claimed or claims to be a prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (peace be upon him) or recognises such a claimant as a prophet or religious reformer shall remain the same as provided in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.” Clause 7C reads: “If a person has got himself enrolled as voter and objection is filed before the Revising Authority notified under the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, within ten days from issuance of the Conduct of General Elections (Second Amendment) Order, 2002, that such a voter is not a Muslim, the Revising Authority shall issue a notice to him to appear before it within fifteen days and require him to sign a declaration regarding his belief about the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Form-IV prescribed under the Electoral Rolls Rules, 1974. In case he refuses to sign the declaration as aforesaid, he shall be deemed to be a non-Muslim and his name shall be deleted from the joint electoral rolls and added to a supplementary list of voters in the same electoral area as non-Muslim. In case the voter does not turn up in spite of service of notice, an ex parte order may be passed against him.” Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2017
Newspaper: Dawn
Newspaper Link: https://www.dawn.com/news/1362004
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted amendments to the recently passed Elections Act, 2017, restoring the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat declaration for candidates, as well as the two clauses on the status of Ahmadis, in their original form. The amendments were tabled by Law Minister Zahid Hamid a day after Speaker Ayaz Sadiq admitted that the change was due to a clerical error, and was approved unanimously. The house also restored Clauses 7-B and 7-C of the Conduct of Elections Order, 2002, which had been removed with the repeal of the entire order. These clauses pertain to the status of Ahmadis. Speaking on a point of order, PPP’s Syed Naveed Qamar said it was not appropriate to term the change in the declaration a clerical mistake. He said the matter had never been discussed before the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms and it was not fair to attribute this blunder to the committee. Former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali sought action against those responsible for the controversial amendment. PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he couldn’t understand why the declaration had been changed. MQM’s Sheikh Salahuddin alleged that this was deliberately done to appease certain ‘masters’. Sahibzada Tariqullah of Jamaat-i-Islami called for an inquiry to fix responsibility for the blunder. Clause 7B reads: “Notwithstanding anything contained in the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974 (XXI of 1974), the Electoral Rolls, Rules, 1974, or any other law for the time being in force, including the Forms prescribed for preparation of electoral rolls on joint electorate basis in pursuance of Article 7 of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 7 of 2002), the status of Quadiani Group or the Lahori Group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadis’ or by any other name) or a person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), the last of the prophets or claimed or claims to be a prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (peace be upon him) or recognises such a claimant as a prophet or religious reformer shall remain the same as provided in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.” Clause 7C reads: “If a person has got himself enrolled as voter and objection is filed before the Revising Authority notified under the Electoral Rolls Act, 1974, within ten days from issuance of the Conduct of General Elections (Second Amendment) Order, 2002, that such a voter is not a Muslim, the Revising Authority shall issue a notice to him to appear before it within fifteen days and require him to sign a declaration regarding his belief about the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Form-IV prescribed under the Electoral Rolls Rules, 1974. In case he refuses to sign the declaration as aforesaid, he shall be deemed to be a non-Muslim and his name shall be deleted from the joint electoral rolls and added to a supplementary list of voters in the same electoral area as non-Muslim. In case the voter does not turn up in spite of service of notice, an ex parte order may be passed against him.” Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2017
ISLAMABAD: As many as 698 parliamentarians so far have submitted the yearly statements of assets and liabilities of their own, their spouses and their dependents with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). According to an ECP official, out of the total, 79 Senators, 216 Members of the National Assembly, 187 Members of the Punjab Assembly, 98 Members of the Sindh Assembly, 69 Members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly and 49 members of Balochistan Assembly had submitted their yearly statements. He said that 469 parliamentarians still did not submit their statements which included 23 Senators, 123 MNAs, 182 Punjab Assembly members, 70 Sindh Assembly members, 55 KP Assembly members and 16 Balochistan Assembly members. He also said that presently there were a total of 1,174 parliamentarians which included 104 senators, 342 MNAs, 371 Punjab Assembly members, 168 Sindh Assembly members, 124 KP Assembly members and 65 Balochistan Assembly members. He added that seven seats were lying vacant in the Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies. The official also highlighted that the defaulters would be suspended from their respective seats of assemblies as this was a mandatory requirement under Section 42A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976 and Section 25A of the Senate (Election) Act, 1975. He also said that the prescribed forms were available, free of charge, from the Islamabad Election Commission Secretariat and offices of the Provincial Election Commissioners in each province. He added forms had already been sent to the Senate Secretariat, National Assembly Secretariat and secretariats of all the four provincial assemblies for the facility of the parliamentarians.
Newspaper: Pakistan-Today
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/04/698-parliamentarians-submit-assets-statements-with-ecp/
ISLAMABAD: As many as 698 parliamentarians so far have submitted the yearly statements of assets and liabilities of their own, their spouses and their dependents with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). According to an ECP official, out of the total, 79 Senators, 216 Members of the National Assembly, 187 Members of the Punjab Assembly, 98 Members of the Sindh Assembly, 69 Members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly and 49 members of Balochistan Assembly had submitted their yearly statements. He said that 469 parliamentarians still did not submit their statements which included 23 Senators, 123 MNAs, 182 Punjab Assembly members, 70 Sindh Assembly members, 55 KP Assembly members and 16 Balochistan Assembly members. He also said that presently there were a total of 1,174 parliamentarians which included 104 senators, 342 MNAs, 371 Punjab Assembly members, 168 Sindh Assembly members, 124 KP Assembly members and 65 Balochistan Assembly members. He added that seven seats were lying vacant in the Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies. The official also highlighted that the defaulters would be suspended from their respective seats of assemblies as this was a mandatory requirement under Section 42A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976 and Section 25A of the Senate (Election) Act, 1975. He also said that the prescribed forms were available, free of charge, from the Islamabad Election Commission Secretariat and offices of the Provincial Election Commissioners in each province. He added forms had already been sent to the Senate Secretariat, National Assembly Secretariat and secretariats of all the four provincial assemblies for the facility of the parliamentarians.
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to provide it the fingerprint data of all CNIC-holders across the country before next year’s general elections. Through a letter, the ECP sought from NADRA the countrywide details of all voters whose fingerprints were not available and asked it to make arrangements to record all of them before the elections. It is estimated that NADRA does not have the fingerprint record of 10% to 12% CNICs, or millions of voters. This is one of the main hurdles for the ECP if it would want to move from manual to electronic voting. Performance of biometric machines poor: ECP The issue came into the limelight during this month’s by-election in the National Assembly constituency NA-120, Lahore, where the ECP installed 100 biometric voting machines (BVMs) for a test run alongside the normal process. Before the September 17 polling, the ECP asked NADRA to provide the biometric fingerprints of all registered voters of NA-120. Out of the total 321,786 voters in the constituency, NADRA could not provide the data of 29, 607. It claimed that most of these people had received Computerised National Identity Cards before NADRA introduced biometric fingerprint machines in 2005-06. During that period, fingerprints were taken and stored on paper. NADRA claimed that of the 29, 607 people, 26, 349 had acquired CNICs before 2005-06 and the CNICs of 24, 099 had expired and not been renewed because of death, migration or other reasons. Another 2, 271 possessed the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop) after submitting their fingerprints on paper. The remaining 772 people were not able to register their fingerprints because of skin issues, amputated or bandaged fingers or being elderly. The test run of the BVMs did not yield a promising result as they failed to read the fingerprints of 12% voters whose data had been provided by NADRA to the ECP. NADRA ‘unhelpful’: Biometric machines may end up gathering rust The ECP used 100 BVMs in 39 polling stations of the constituency, having 57,265 registered voters. Amid a low turnout, a total of 22,181 voters used the BVMs. The machines verified 19,520 of them through the fingerprints and other data. They could not read the fingerprints of 2,646 voters – 12% of those who tried the technology. ECP sources said the commission had also carried out a low-key test of BVMs in a constituency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa a few months back. The results were even more abysmal as the machines failed to read about 40% fingerprints. In July, the polls supervisory body had to abandon a plan to test biometric thumbprint verification machines in the Sindh Assembly’s PS-114 constituency since NADRA did not share the required data. The ECP wants to test the biometric verification and electronic voting machines in more constituencies to check their applicability before taking a final decision about using them.
Newspaper: Express Tribune
Newspaper Link: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1518106/2018-general-elections-poll-body-asks-nadra-complete-fingerprint-data/
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to provide it the fingerprint data of all CNIC-holders across the country before next year’s general elections. Through a letter, the ECP sought from NADRA the countrywide details of all voters whose fingerprints were not available and asked it to make arrangements to record all of them before the elections. It is estimated that NADRA does not have the fingerprint record of 10% to 12% CNICs, or millions of voters. This is one of the main hurdles for the ECP if it would want to move from manual to electronic voting. Performance of biometric machines poor: ECP The issue came into the limelight during this month’s by-election in the National Assembly constituency NA-120, Lahore, where the ECP installed 100 biometric voting machines (BVMs) for a test run alongside the normal process. Before the September 17 polling, the ECP asked NADRA to provide the biometric fingerprints of all registered voters of NA-120. Out of the total 321,786 voters in the constituency, NADRA could not provide the data of 29, 607. It claimed that most of these people had received Computerised National Identity Cards before NADRA introduced biometric fingerprint machines in 2005-06. During that period, fingerprints were taken and stored on paper. NADRA claimed that of the 29, 607 people, 26, 349 had acquired CNICs before 2005-06 and the CNICs of 24, 099 had expired and not been renewed because of death, migration or other reasons. Another 2, 271 possessed the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop) after submitting their fingerprints on paper. The remaining 772 people were not able to register their fingerprints because of skin issues, amputated or bandaged fingers or being elderly. The test run of the BVMs did not yield a promising result as they failed to read the fingerprints of 12% voters whose data had been provided by NADRA to the ECP. NADRA ‘unhelpful’: Biometric machines may end up gathering rust The ECP used 100 BVMs in 39 polling stations of the constituency, having 57,265 registered voters. Amid a low turnout, a total of 22,181 voters used the BVMs. The machines verified 19,520 of them through the fingerprints and other data. They could not read the fingerprints of 2,646 voters – 12% of those who tried the technology. ECP sources said the commission had also carried out a low-key test of BVMs in a constituency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa a few months back. The results were even more abysmal as the machines failed to read about 40% fingerprints. In July, the polls supervisory body had to abandon a plan to test biometric thumbprint verification machines in the Sindh Assembly’s PS-114 constituency since NADRA did not share the required data. The ECP wants to test the biometric verification and electronic voting machines in more constituencies to check their applicability before taking a final decision about using them.
ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday issued notice to PML-N for non-completion of the process for election of the party president within the stipulated timeframe. The Commission has asked Ahsan Iqbal, party’s secretary general to appear in person or through a counsel on October 3. The four-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (Retd) Sardar Mohammad Rraza Khan heard miscellaneous constitutional petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and others. After hearing the case, the ECP issued a notice to the PML-N for not electing president after the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and notified that the PML-N “is now not eligible” to get the party symbol. According to PML-N’s party constitution, it was supposed to elect a president within 45 days after the ouster of Sharif — the deadline passed on September 11. The notice, issued to PML-N Acting Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, said that due to its failure to elect the party head, the PML-N “is now not eligible” to get the party symbol. The ECP fixed the matter for hearing on October 3. Earlier in the day, the counsel for PML-N leader Raja Zafarul Haq submitted before the ECP that the commission “has no jurisdiction in the matter of de-notifying a political party.” The PML-N in its written reply argued that “the PML-N is not a name of a person but a name of one of the largest political parties.” “There is no provision of law which bars to lead a political party by a person allegedly having [been] disqualified to become a member of the parliament,” says the reply. Raja Zafar ul Haq also rejected all accusations levelled against the party and its leadership. After disqualification of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court in Panama case, PML-N had appointed Senator Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan as acting President. This news was published in The Nation newspaper. Read complete newspaper of 27-Sep-2017
Newspaper: The Nation
Newspaper Link: http://nation.com.pk/national/27-Sep-2017/ecp-serves-notice-on-party-for-not-electing-chief
ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday issued notice to PML-N for non-completion of the process for election of the party president within the stipulated timeframe. The Commission has asked Ahsan Iqbal, party’s secretary general to appear in person or through a counsel on October 3. The four-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (Retd) Sardar Mohammad Rraza Khan heard miscellaneous constitutional petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and others. After hearing the case, the ECP issued a notice to the PML-N for not electing president after the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and notified that the PML-N “is now not eligible” to get the party symbol. According to PML-N’s party constitution, it was supposed to elect a president within 45 days after the ouster of Sharif — the deadline passed on September 11. The notice, issued to PML-N Acting Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, said that due to its failure to elect the party head, the PML-N “is now not eligible” to get the party symbol. The ECP fixed the matter for hearing on October 3. Earlier in the day, the counsel for PML-N leader Raja Zafarul Haq submitted before the ECP that the commission “has no jurisdiction in the matter of de-notifying a political party.” The PML-N in its written reply argued that “the PML-N is not a name of a person but a name of one of the largest political parties.” “There is no provision of law which bars to lead a political party by a person allegedly having [been] disqualified to become a member of the parliament,” says the reply. Raja Zafar ul Haq also rejected all accusations levelled against the party and its leadership. After disqualification of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court in Panama case, PML-N had appointed Senator Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan as acting President. This news was published in The Nation newspaper. Read complete newspaper of 27-Sep-2017
ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday decided to increase the number of polling stations for 2018 general elections. It was decided that in the light new legislation, the existing number of 69,000 polling stations will be increased up to 100,000. The decision was taken in ECP’s Planning Committee meeting, which was chaired by ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob and attended by provincial election commissioners and other officials of the commission. The meeting decided that new polling stations will be established for the coming general elections and that the ECP has also finalised 700,000 staff for the next general elections It was further informed that the commission will establish its storage house and strong rooms throughout the country by the end of this year. The ECP secretary will visit in coming days to inaugurate storage house and strong rooms in Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Kohat.
