Appellate tribunals for elections: ECP directs its provincial chiefs to move high court CJs

ISLAMABAD: The poll entity has directed its provincial chiefs to get “concurrence and proposals” from the chief justices of the five high courts for the appointment of appellate tribunals for the general elections.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), to this effect, has written to its provincial election commissioners in all four provinces to acquire the concurrence and proposals of the chief justices of the high courts of Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Sindh, and Balochistan for the appellate tribunals’ appointment under Section 63(1) of the Elections Act 2017.

This law provides that a candidate or the objector may, within the time specified by the ECP, file an appeal against the decision of the returning officer rejecting or accepting a nomination paper to an appellate tribunal constituted for the constituency consisting of a person who is a judge of a high court appointed by the commission in consultation with the chief justice of the high court concerned.

ECP issues schedule for Feb 8 general elections

According to the schedule issued by the ECP for general polls: the public notice of the general polls is to be issued by the ROs on the coming December 19. Dates of filing nomination papers by the contesting candidates: December 20-22. Publication of the names of nominated candidates: December 23. Scrutiny of nomination papers: December 24-30. Date of filing of appeals against acceptance/rejection of the nomination papers: January 3. Deciding of appeals by the appellate tribunals: January 10. Publication of revised list of candidates: January 11. Withdrawal of candidature(s) and publication of final list of candidates: January 12. Allotment of election symbols: January 13. And polling date: February 8.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023