ISLAMABAD: In line with the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued the revised schedule for the elections to the Punjab Assembly, notifying that the elections be held on May 14 instead of the previously notified date of October 8.
The ECP issued the notification of the revised schedule for the general elections in Punjab, citing the Supreme Court’s verdict issued on Tuesday on a petition filed by the PTI against the ECP’s decision to delay the Punjab Assembly elections from the originally decided date of April 30 to October 8.
According to ECP, under the revised schedule, the last date for filing of appeals against the decisions of the returning officer rejecting or accepting the candidates’ nomination papers has been set as April 10. The appellate tribunal can decide these appeals by April 17 and a revised list of candidates will be issued by April 18.
The last date for the withdrawal of candidature and the publication of final list of candidates has been set as April 19, following which electoral symbols will be allotted to candidates on April 20.
The elections, in line with the SC’s directives, are to be held on May 14.
It is to be noted that elections to the Punjab Assembly have been due since January this year when the Assembly was dissolved. In early March, the ECP had proposed that the elections be held between April 30 and May 7 and subsequently, President Arif Alvi accepted the commission’s recommendations by setting April 30 as the date for the polls.
The date was officially notified by the electoral watchdog on March 8, but it was later deferred to October 8 in another notification issued by the ECP on March 22.
In the latest notification issued today, the commission said it was recalling its March 22 notification and partially modifying the March 8 notification.
