ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has received more than 28,000 nomination papers from candidates aspiring to contest national elections scheduled for February 8, the election regulator said on Monday.
The ECP’s extended deadline to file nominations expired on Sunday, followed by the process of scrutiny of papers from December 25 till December 30.
A total of 28,626 candidates have submitted their nominations for the national and provincial assemblies, including 5,278 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 358 from Islamabad, 13,823 from Punjab, 6,498 from Sindh and 2,669 from Balochistan.
In a statement on Monday, the election regulator said it had established an online facilitation center at its secretariat to facilitate returning officers in the scrutiny of nomination papers.
“Different institutions, including NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority), NAB (National Accountability Bureau), FIA (Federal Investigation Agency), FBR (Federal Board of Revenue), and the SBP (State Bank of Pakistan), are assisting this facilitation center,” the ECP said in a statement.
“This center is working 24/7 and the particulars of candidates, received from returning officers, are being sent to these institutions for necessary action.”
After the scrutiny of the nomination papers, a list of all candidates will be displayed on January 11 and the candidates will have the option to withdraw until January 12, according to the ECP. The regulator will then allot electoral symbols to candidates on January 13.
Polling for the general elections is scheduled to be held on February 8.
The ECP has also given more time to foreign observers to submit their applications to monitor the polls. They can now submit their applications from December 31 till January 20, it said last week.
