The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday declared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senate nominees as independent candidates for elections scheduled to be held on March 3. The ECP took the decision in a special session in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's verdict handed out on Wednesday wherein the court declared that a person disqualified from holding any public office cannot lead a political party.
"The affected candidates are, therefore, treated as independent candidates and the respective returning officers are directed to revise Form-33 and Form-54 of the list of contesting candidates accordingly," the ECP ruled. The ECP discussed different options in the special session that was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner former Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza and reached a conclusion that affected candidates of the PML-N should be considered as independent candidates. "Treat the affected candidates as independent candidates in order to conduct election on time and protect the rights and level playing field to all the contesting candidates," the ECP said in its order.
Earlier, the Supreme Court said in its verdict on Wednesday, "All steps taken, order passed, directions given and documents issued by respondent no. 4 (Nawaz Sharif) as party head after his disqualification on July 28, 2017 are decided to have never been taken, passed, given or issued in the eyes of the law."
"The Election Commission of Pakistan is accordingly directed to remove the name of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif as president/party head of Pakistan Muslim League (N)," the Supreme Court said. Resultantly, the ECP removed the name of Nawaz Sharif from all its record and also rejected PML-N senator Raja Zafarul Haq's request for issuing authority letter to the party nominees, saying, "The same cannot be entertained."
A total of 135 candidates from Pakistan's four provinces, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) are contesting the Senate elections against 52 seats that are set to fall vacant on March 11. According to final list of candidates released by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday, 33 candidates are running from Sindh, 25 from Balochistan, 20 from Punjab, 27 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 24 from FATA and 6 from Islamabad.
The Senate consists of 104 members: 23 from each of Pakistan's four provinces, eight from FATA, and four from Islamabad. Each senator is elected for a six-year term, but 50 percent of them retire every three years, and elections are held to fill the newly vacated seats. Four senators will be elected from FATA, 11 each from KP and Balochistan, 12 each from Sindh and Punjab, and two from Islamabad on March 3, according to the ECP.