The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will begin receiving nomination papers from prospective National and Provincial Assembly candidates on Wednesday, (December 20), as the country gears up for a crucial general election on February 8, 2024. Detailing the oath-taking process, an ECP official explained that provincial election commissioners would administer the oath to District Returning Officers (DROs), who, in turn, would administer the oath to each Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) within their respective districts. Likewise, the ROs would administer the oath to each presiding officer under their jurisdiction, and the presiding officer would then administer the oath to each member of the polling staff under their control before the upcoming poll. Additionally, the head of the law enforcement agency or an authorized officer would administer the oath to every official from that agency assigned to election duties.

After the oaths taking, the process is scheduled to commence, following the requirements of the Elections Act 2017. A total of 859 ROs have completed their three-day training, and 144 DROs are set to undergo training on Tuesday." The nomination papers will have to be submitted to their respective ROs from December 20 to December 22. And all matters, including scrutiny, will also be conducted there. According to the schedule issued by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the scrutiny of nomination papers will be from December 24 to 30 and objections can be filed till January 03 while appeals against nomination papers will be heard till January 10. The revised list of candidates will be released on January 11, 2024, election symbols will be allotted to the candidates on January 13, while the general elections across the country will be held on February 8, 2024.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)