The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued revised schedule for the general Elections 2018, under which candidates can submit their nomination papers from June 4 to June 8. After suspension of the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the ECP issued a new schedule for submission of nomination papers for the general election.
Earlier, the ECP had asked the candidates to submit their details and nomination papers from June 2 to June 6. According to ECP, the initial list of nominated candidates will be displayed on June 8, while dates for other developments regarding elections would remain unchanged. The nomination papers will be scrutinized on June 14, while appeals against decisions by retuning officers can be filed till June 19.
The ECP further stated that the appeal tribunal will wind up requests by June 26 and a day later, on June 27, candidates' list would be displayed again.
The candidates will then have time until June 28 to withdraw their nomination papers, after which a new list with election symbols would be issued on June 29. It said the schedule will also apply to the seats reserved for women and minority in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab.
The Commission made it clear that all remaining stages of previous schedule will remain intact and polls will be held on July 25 as notified earlier.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday last set aside the new nomination forms as approved by the Parliament through the Elections Act 2017, and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to start the process of issuing nomination forms afresh after improving them with addition of necessary details about candidates who will contest the elections.
The Supreme Court on Sunday suspended the LHC ruling in question. The ECP and former Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq filed appeals against the verdict in the apex court's Lahore registry.
Subsequently, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar held a hearing where he suspended the LHC's judgment on the matter.