ISLAMABAD: As the election process progressed, the Returning Officers (ROs) started to finalise the scrutiny process. As per the news reports, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected the nomination papers of 3,240 aspiring candidates. Reportedly, 934 males and 90 females faced rejection to contest for National Assembly elections. Meanwhile, 2,081 males and 135 females failed to secure approval for the provincial assembly race.
ECP approved 22,711 candidates to take part in the general elections 2024. These numbers include 21,684 men and 1,027 women. For National Assemble:
- ROs approved the papers of 6,449 candidates.
- 6,094 men will compete for NA seats.
- 355 women will contest for NA positions.
Similarly, for provincial assembly:
- ROs accepted 16,262 nominations.
- 15,590 men received the approval.
- 672 women secured the permission of ECP.
The highest number of rejections for NA seats occurred in Punjab as ECP turned down the papers of 521 candidates. In other provinces and territories, the disapproval rate remained as follows:
- Sindh: 166
- Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: 152
- Balochistan: 92
- Islamabad Capital Territory: 93
Regarding the provincial assembly, 943 candidates faced rejection in Punjab. In Sindh, the number touched 520. The Balochistan territory reported 386 refusals and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had a tally of 367.
It is pertinent to mention that many senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf experienced rejection. The nomination papers of PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Zain Qureshi, Meherbano Qureshi, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, Moonis Elahi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Atif Khan, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ali Amin Gandapur, Hammad Azhar, and Murad Saeed were rejected.
Bigwigs Securing Approval of Nomination Papers
The nomination papers of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and IPP chief Jahangir Khan Tareen were accepted on Saturday, December 30 2023.
Other notable leaders who faced no issues in approving their papers included PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Co-Chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The list also had names of PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gilani, former speaker NA Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, IPP’s President Aleem Khan, former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar, PTI leader Sardar Latif Khosa, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Makhdom Javed Hashmi, and MQM senior leader Farooq Sattar.
