THE third phase of the general election began on Sunday with the filing of appeals against rejection or acceptance of nomination papers by the returning officers (ROs) of the contesting candidates. This is a crucial stage as decisions on appeals would determine the fate of over three thousand two hundred candidates whose nomination papers were rejected by the respective returning officers on different grounds.
Out of 25,951 nomination papers originally submitted by candidates for the national and the four provincial assemblies, the ROs green-lighted 22,711 candidates, which include 21,612 men and 1,027 women candidates while the nomination papers of others were not approved. Those facing rejection belonged to almost all political parties besides independents but the number of those belonging to the PTI was the highest. There are, however, reports that the PTI fielded a number of candidates as cover ones and they might get the party tickets in case the rejection is upheld by the appellate tribunals. At the moment, the PTI stands to lose a lot as almost all its senior leadership including the former Prime Minister and its founder Imran Khan is out of the race because of rejection of their nomination papers. Imran’s nomination papers for two National Assembly constituencies were rejected citing his disqualification for five years while those of PML(N) leader Mian Nawaz Sharif and that of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) Jehangir Khan Tareen cleared on the please that the five year disqualification period has expired. However, the final position would become clear once appeals against rejection or acceptance of the nomination papers are decided by the appellate tribunals.
