Despite repeated requests, follow-ups and perusals, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has yet to provide the copies of the nomination papers of almost 47 percent of the candidates who won the General Election 2024.
FAFEN has requested the ECP in March 2024 for obtaining copies of 1,081 candidates returned to the National and Provincial Assemblies. Despite having followed the formal procedures prescribed under the Elections Act, 2017 and the Election Rules, 2017, FAFEN has received complete nomination papers of only 483 out of 1,081 candidates.
Nomination papers, submitted on Form A, are filed by candidates with the Returning Officer (RO) under the Elections Act to contest an election. The form contains information on a candidate’s basic profile, including tax details, pending criminal cases, and declarations of assets and liabilities.
What does the law say about public access to nomination papers?
Section 60(7) of the Elections Act, 2017 requires Returning Officers to make nomination papers, along with their annexures, open to public inspection. The law further obliges them to provide certified copies of nomination papers to any person upon payment of the prescribed fee.
Under Rule 91(5) of the Election Rules, 2017, certified copies of nomination papers may be obtained on payment of a fee of ten rupees per page, payable through court fee stamps.
How did FAFEN seek access to nomination papers?
Following the General Elections 2024, FAFEN formally requested access to the nomination papers through a letter addressed to the Secretary of the ECP on March 13, 2024. In response, the ECP directed the Provincial Election Commissioners (PECs) on March 22, 2024 to facilitate the provision of nomination paper copies.
While the PECs of Sindh and Balochistan asked FAFEN to deposit court fee stamps to obtain certified copies and provided most of the nomination papers, the PECs of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa referred FAFEN to the Returning Officers for access to the documents.
How many nomination papers have been received so far?
To date, FAFEN has obtained complete nomination papers of 483 returned candidates, accounting for 45 percent of the total 1,081 members of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies. An additional 101 nomination papers nine percent of the total) have been received without the accompanying affidavits.
The nomination papers of the remaining 497 returned members (46 percent of the total membership) are still awaited. Among the missing nomination papers, 137 are of Members of the National Assembly, including one from Balochistan, three from the Islamabad Capital Territory, 32 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 88 from Punjab, and 13 from Sindh.
Similarly, nomination papers of three Members of the Balochistan Assembly, 117 Members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 222 Members of the Punjab Assembly, and 18 Members of the Sindh Assembly have yet to be provided.
